Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical company QureBio has completed a Series C1 financing round, raising nearly CNY 100 million (approximately USD 14 million) exclusively led by Efung Capital. The funding will accelerate the company's clinical trials and advance its pipeline of novel bispecific and multispecific antibody therapeutics targeting cancer, autoimmune diseases, and inflammatory disorders.
Advanced Bispecific Antibody Platform
QureBio has established proprietary technology platforms including its I2T platform and T-cell engager and NK-cell engager platforms, which form the foundation for its pipeline of novel drug candidates. The company specializes in developing bispecific and multispecific antibody and protein therapeutics to address unmet medical needs in previously intractable diseases.
Lead Candidate Advances to Phase III Preparation
The company's most advanced candidate, Q-1802, is a Claudin18.2/PD-L1 bispecific antibody that received regulatory clearance to initiate clinical trials in both China and the United States in March 2021. Phase II patient enrollment is nearly complete, and preparations are underway for Phase III clinical trials in China.
According to Fan Rongkui, lead investor from Efung Capital, "The Claudin18.2 bispecific antibody holds the potential to achieve unique clinical value in first-line therapy for gastric cancer. Efung Capital is optimistic about the advancement of Q-1802 into Phase III clinical trials, aiming to provide gastric cancer patients with innovative products that offer differentiated efficacy."
Expanding Pipeline Portfolio
QureBio's pipeline also includes Q-1801, a SIRPα/PD-L1 bispecific antibody that has obtained clinical trial approvals in China and the US and is poised to begin clinical studies. The company is also developing a PD-1 Antibody-Cytokine Fusion Candidate, an innovative fusion protein with dual functions as a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor and a cytokine modulator, demonstrating a favorable therapeutic window.
This fusion candidate targets an area where similar approaches by larger biopharmaceutical companies have faced setbacks, and QureBio is seeking partners to accelerate its global development.
Strategic Industry Partnerships
QureBio's proprietary antibody engineering technology has garnered broad industry recognition, leading to collaborations with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms including BRL Medicine, BioMap, Hengrui Pharma, and Precision Scientific to co-develop novel therapies.
"We will continue leveraging our proprietary bispecific and multispecific antibody technology platforms to develop novel therapies for unmet clinical needs include malignancies, autoimmune diseases, and inflammation-based disorders," said Qu Xiangdong, founder of QureBio.
Experienced Leadership Team
The company's founding team brings deep understanding of tumor immunology mechanisms, with core members having previously led R&D efforts at multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Amgen, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer. Fan Rongkui noted that the core team has demonstrated exceptional efficiency in key areas such as target validation, molecular design, and process development.
Founded in 2017 and based in Shanghai, QureBio has built multiple proprietary technology platforms for antibody discovery and engineering, enabling a robust pipeline of drug candidates aimed at addressing critical unmet medical needs in China and around the world.
