Chuangye.com has learned that Icono Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a leading domestic small molecule innovative drug research and development company, recently completed a Series B financing of more than 50 million US dollars, exceeding the fundraising limit.
This round of financing was led by Hongtai Fund, with participation from Zhongnan Venture Capital, Shenzhen Venture Capital, Yuanhe Holdings, GF Xinde, and Sanhua Hongdao.
Previously, Icono had received exclusive Series A investment from Morningside Venture Capital.
This round of financing will be mainly used to promote clinical trials and preclinical development of multiple projects in Icono's R&D pipeline and expand international business cooperation.
Icono was founded at the end of 2017. The company is located in the Bio-Nano Park of Suzhou Industrial Park. By focusing on independent research and development of cell death inflammatory circuits, the underlying mechanism of many major diseases, Icono has won multiple awards from China and the United States.
patents and owns global rights to the product pipeline.
A large number of studies have shown that regulated cell death plays a key role in a variety of major diseases, so drugs targeting the cell death inflammatory circuit have the potential to become platform drugs.
The company is developing a number of potential FIC small molecule drugs for inflammatory diseases, fibrotic diseases, autoimmune diseases and tumors to meet the huge clinical needs.
The RIPK1 inhibitor IND, the fastest-growing product in the company's pipeline, has been approved by the FDA and is about to begin clinical trials.
Icono's core team has more than 10 years of research experience in the biological mechanisms of cell death and chemical transformation.
The founder and CEO is Dr. Zhang Xiaohu, who has many years of experience in drug research and development in the industry. He has worked at NeurocineBiosciences and as the executive director of BioDuro/PPD, a leading CRO company, and has successfully promoted multiple products to clinical trials.
Co-founder and scientific advisor Dr. Sudan He has participated in research on the biological mechanism of cell death at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Beijing Institute of Life Sciences. He has served as PI at Suzhou University and Suzhou Institute of Systems Medicine and published many articles.
Important biological research results are widely cited by fellow scholars.
Dr. Zhang Xiaohu, co-founder and CEO of Icono, said: The Icono team adheres to the promise of "people who love science to protect your health", is patient-centered, based on scientific innovation, and targets major issues in the fields of autoimmunity and tumors.
Research and develop new drugs for diseases.
The company has established an efficient professional R&D team and developed multiple pipelines with global intellectual property rights.
The independently developed small molecule RIPK1 inhibitor has been approved for clinical use in the United States, and multiple innovative projects are in the IND/preclinical stage.
We are grateful to our old shareholder Morningside Venture Capital for their years of support and companionship, and to our new shareholders Hongtai Fund, Zhongnan Venture Capital, Shenzhen Venture Capital, Yuanhe Holdings, GF Xinde and Sanhua Hongdao for their trust and support.
This round of financing will help Icono reach a new level and complete the transformation from R&D to clinical company.
Ms. Li Tong, medical partner of Hongtai Fund, said: There are still huge unmet clinical needs for autoimmune diseases around the world, and small molecule drugs with new mechanisms have always been the ‘bridgehead’ in the research and development of new autoimmune drugs globally.
The Icono team has a deep understanding of cell death pathways and potential related indications. Based on top original basic biological research and solid translational research, Icono has independently developed a number of potential 'platform drugs'.
In the four years since its establishment, Icono has demonstrated its extremely solid and dedicated background in new drug research and development and efficient execution.
Hongtai Fund is optimistic about the development of Icono and is very happy to participate in Icono's investment as a lead investor in this round. We also look forward to in-depth cooperation with Icono in the future to continue to help Icono grow and expand.
Wei Yufa, partner of Zhongnan Venture Capital Fund, said: Icono Biotech focuses on the development of scarce target drugs, and the innovation value of its R&D pipeline is extremely high. It also targets huge unmet clinical needs and provides better treatments for patients with diseases.
Icono's R&D team has been deeply involved in the field of innovative drugs for many years and has accumulated rich development experience. We are very optimistic about the R&D capabilities and execution capabilities of the Icono team and look forward to Icono's continued breakthroughs in the field of new drug development in the future to bring benefits to patients with diseases.
Go to the gospel.
Dr. Zhang Xiao, a partner at Yikai Capital, said: It is well known that regulated cell death plays a key role in a variety of important diseases.
As one of the leading companies in the field of regulated cell death, we are very optimistic about the profound biological accumulation and rich transformation capabilities of the Icono team, as well as the potential of the company's products to evolve into platform drugs in the future.
The Yikai team is honored to help Icono complete this round of financing, and looks forward to the company having more breakthroughs in the near future to solve a wide range of unmet clinical needs.
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