Leman Biotech Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Leman Biotech"), a new biotech company specializing in cancer immunotherapy drug R&D, has completed a successful angel round of financing, raising $11 million. The round was led by Tiantu Capital, with support from 5Y Capital and XtalPi. The funds will be utilized to further the preclinical research of its metabolic reprogrammed biomacromolecule drugs, and to push its cutting-edge CAR-T cell therapy into clinical trials, broaden the scope of its metabolic reprogramming platform, and facilitate the development of next-generation cancer immunotherapy.
Leman Biotech, was established in July 2021 with a founding team from the highly esteemed Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Led by Professor Li Tang, the team has conducted extensive research in the field of cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on combating T cell exhaustion. Their work has been published in top international academic journals and was listed among the top ten news at EPFL in 2021. From its inception, Leman Biotech aimed to address the long-standing challenges in cancer immunotherapy, particularly the efficacy of treating solid tumors. Utilizing the latest research results from Tang lab of EPFL, the team developed the world's first Meta 10 metabolic reprogramming technology and established a proprietary platform for the discovery, R&D, and production of innovative cancer immunotherapies. Currently, Leman Biotech is developing several R&D pipelines with significant market potential and is progressing towards clinical trials.
T cell exhaustion is a significant barrier that limits the success of various cancer immunotherapies. The reactivation of exhausted T cells is a key area of focus in cancer immunotherapy research. Leman Biotech, using its Meta 10 metabolic reprogramming technology platform, has created a new type of cancer immunotherapy that addresses this challenge. This therapy reverses T cell exhaustion, reactivates exhausted T cells, and induces stem immune memory, leading to improved response rates and efficacy in cancer immunotherapies. By enhancing the oxidative phosphorylation metabolism of tumor-specific exhausted T cells, the therapy has shown promising results in various animal models of mouse and human tumors, with complete tumor clearance observed in multiple models of solid tumors. This represents a significant step towards a clinical cure for tumors.
Schematic illustration of Meta 10 metabolic regulation platform
Leman Biotech has plans to advance its two representative drug candidates into preclinical and clinical trials for multiple solid tumors, such as melanoma, colon cancer, and breast cancer. They have also entered into a strategic partnership with XtalPi, a leading AI pharmaceutical company, to leverage their strengths in metabolically reprogrammed cell therapy and XtalPi's expertise in AI and high-precision computational chemistry. The collaboration aims to develop a next-generation AI computing-based superkines R&D platform for superkines with improved specificity, lower side effects, and increased efficacy, and to open up new frontiers in immunotherapy. Leman Biotech is also expanding the use of its metabolic reprogramming platform to overcome T cell exhaustion in other cancer immunotherapy treatments, such as TILs, neoantigen cancer vaccines, and immune checkpoint antibodies. With its unique Meta 10 metabolic reprogramming technology, cutting-edge AI pharmaceutical techniques, and strong industry partnerships, Leman Biotech is dedicated to making advancements in the field of cancer immunotherapy.
Professor Li Tang, the co-founder and chairman of Leman Biotech, stated that with support from investors and partners, the company is proud to develop on its core technology, Meta 10, which focuses on immunometabolic reprogramming. Rapid advancements in R&D have increased the company's confidence in Meta10's ability to activate exhausted T cells and enhance cancer immunotherapy outcomes. To continue this progress, Leman Biotech plans to reinforce its R&D team, advance its main pipeline and technology platform, research new technologies, expand the technology's applications, collaborate with innovative pharma companies, and aim to improve cancer immunotherapy response rates and efficacy for the benefit of as many patients as possible."
Wei Guoxing, Partner of Tiantu Capital, is pleased to see the establishment of Leman Biotech in Shenzhen, which has cutting-edge achievements in the field of cancer immunotherapy drug research and development. He believes the team has a strong development plan and implementation ability, unique core technology, and has achieved brilliant results. He looks forward to a strong alliance between Leman Biotech and XtalPi to accelerate the development of AI-enabled innovative oncology therapeutics to address the needs of cancer treatment and bring hope to patients."
Jing Xutian, the Managing Director of 5Y Capital, stated, "Leman Biotech's pipeline layout is advanced and well-established. It not only rapidly advances clinical research and achieves breakthroughs in treatment outcomes, but also develops steadily and enhances the company's ability to resist risks. Additionally, there is the technology pipeline based on AI that holds vast potential for growth and reserved development prospects. The Meta10 technology platform of Leman Biotech serves as an effective solution to the bottleneck problem of T cell exhaustion and has been experimentally verified. With highly qualified international team, Leman Biotech fills the deficits in immunotherapy treatment and holds great potential for further development of pipeline, as well as empowering innovative cancer immunotherapy on a wide scale."
"We are honored to join forces with the talented team at Leman Biotech and their breakthroughs in the field of cancer immunotherapy, particularly in the treatment of solid tumors," said Wen Shuhao, Chairman of XtalPi. "By combining our expertise in quantum physics and AI with Leman's key core technologies, we strive to expedite the engineering of biomacromolecule drugs and maximize their therapeutic potential."
Founded in July 2021, Leman Biotech is committed to creating and delivering innovative cancer immunotherapy drugs. With their proprietary Meta10 metabolic reprogramming technology, the company has developed a platform for metabolic reprogramming of biomacromolecules, an cell therapy platform that enhances metabolism, and a superkine R&D platform that uses AI computing and has unique IP rights. Currently, Leman Biotech has a unique product pipeline that is highly differentiated, globally competitive, and has a clear roadmap for future development. Their products, including biomacromolecule drugs, have shown remarkable improvement in the effectiveness of immune cell therapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, immune agonists, and other immunotherapies. The company's novel metabolism-enhanced immune cell therapy technology has been proven to have exceptional therapeutic effects in various mouse solid tumor models, lung cancer metastasis models, and animal models of human tumors, and holds promise as a treatment for solid tumors. Additionally, Leman Biotech has teamed up with XtalPi, an AI pharmaceutical company, to create a research and development platform for superkines using AI computing.
Tiantu Capital, founded in 2002, is one of the earliest professional equity investment institutions in China, with offices in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The company has a professional investment team of over 50 people. The Tiantu VC team, established in 2016, manages three VC funds, one angel fund, and one US dollar fund, with a cumulative management value of over 4 billion RMB. After 5 years of practice, the company has developed a mature investment decision-making system, having invested in over 100 early-stage projects.
5Y Capital currently manages approximately RMB 32 billion of both USD and RMB funds. It aims to support and motivate solo entrepreneurs, providing them with comprehensive support in all aspects of their business operations. 5Y Capital's investors include well-known companies such as Ctrip (NASDAQ: CTRP), Huanju Group (NASDAQ: YY), Xiaomi Group (HK: 01810), Kingsoft Office (STAR Market: 688111), Agora (NASDAQ: API), Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV), Kuaishou (HKEX: 1024), WeDoctor, SenseTime, Horizon, Pony.ai, and others.
XtalPi is a cutting-edge, AI and quantum physics-based drug discovery company dedicated to transforming the drug discovery industry. With a presence in China and the United States and serving the world, XtalPi leverages advanced R&D and computing resources to provide tailored solutions that meet the needs of its customers and partners. The company's innovative drug discovery platform seamlessly integrates cloud-based supercomputing tools with state-of-the-art experimental capabilities to create a precise, mutually-reinforcing R&D system. As a leading AI drug discovery firm, XtalPi has developed a comprehensive R&D process that integrates quantum physics and advanced laboratory methods, breaking through the limitations of traditional R&D and enabling faster and more innovative drug development.
