Excalipoint Therapeutics Secures $68.7 Million in Seed Funding to Advance Next-Generation T-Cell Engager Pipeline
核心洞察
Excalipoint Therapeutics (搜索) completed one of the largest seed financing rounds for a Chinese biotechnology company, raising $68.7 million to advance its proprietary T-cell engager platforms and pipeline of six differentiated programs.
The company's lead asset EXP011 (搜索), a tri-specific antibody targeting DLL3 (搜索), CD3 (搜索), and 4-1BB (搜索) for small cell lung cancer, dosed its first patient in Phase I/II trials in October 2025.
Built on three proprietary platforms designed to overcome biological barriers in T-cell engager therapy, Excalipoint aims to convert "cold" tumors into "hot" ones and target difficult-to-drug antigens.
Excalipoint Therapeutics (搜索), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation T-cell engager (TCE) therapies, announced the completion of an oversubscribed $68.7 million seed financing round to advance its proprietary technology platforms and pipeline of differentiated T-cell engager programs targeting solid tumors and autoimmune diseases.
The financing represents one of the largest seed rounds for a Chinese biotechnology company and was completed in two tranches. The initial $41 million seed funding was completed at the company's inception in August 2025, co-led by HSG, Apricot Capital, and Yuanbio Venture Capital, with participation from 5Y Capital, Co-Win Ventures, Med-Fine Capital and Hony Capital.
After achieving significant clinical progress in just six months, Excalipoint secured a $27.7 million extension round co-led by MPCi (搜索) (formerly Matrix Partners China) and Centurium Capital (搜索). The extension round included significant participation from global investors LAV (Lilly Asia Ventures (搜索)) and Eisai Innovation Inc, the venture arm of Eisai Co., Ltd., along with existing investors Apricot Capital and 5Y Capital.
Proprietary Platform Technologies
Excalipoint has developed three proprietary platforms designed to overcome key biological barriers that have historically limited T-cell engager therapies. The TOPAbody, T-Cell Immune Shield, and TCE Probody platforms are engineered to convert "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors, address challenges in the tumor microenvironment, and enable targeting of difficult-to-drug tumor antigens.
These platforms support a diversified pipeline of six programs with first- or best-in-class potential, designed to improve the efficacy, safety, and durability of T-cell immunotherapies for solid tumors and other difficult-to-treat cancers.
Clinical Pipeline Progress
The company's lead asset, EXP011 (搜索) (CTM012), is a tri-specific antibody targeting DLL3 (搜索), CD3 (搜索), and 4-1BB (搜索) being developed for small cell lung cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, and other DLL3-expressing malignancies. Excalipoint initiated a Phase I/II clinical trial with the first patient dosed in October 2025.
Additional pipeline programs include EXP012 (搜索) (CTM013), a tri-specific antibody targeting CDH17 (搜索), CD3 (搜索), and 4-1BB (搜索) for colorectal, gastric, and pancreatic cancers, and EXP016 (搜索), a tri-specific antibody leveraging the TOPAbody platform for solid tumors with high unmet medical need. The pipeline also encompasses EXP017 (搜索), a multi-specific antibody using the Immune Shield platform, EP101 enhanced with Pro-TCE platform technology, and EXP015 (搜索), targeting IgG-associated diseases in immunology.
Leadership and Strategic Vision
Excalipoint was co-founded by Lei Fang, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Jielun Zhu, MBA, CFA, Co-Founder, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer. Dr. Fang previously held leadership roles at Lepu Biopharma and I-Mab Biopharma, while Mr. Zhu brings over 20 years of healthcare and capital markets experience, including leadership roles at I-Mab Biopharma, Fapon Group, and Jefferies.
"Excalipoint is developing a proprietary pipeline and three powerful technology platforms to position our company as a true innovation powerhouse and developer of T-cell engagers," said Dr. Fang. "By combining science and capital with China's clinical development efficiency and access to large patient populations, we can rapidly generate clinical data while advancing a pipeline of differentiated therapies."
Investor Confidence in Next-Generation Immunotherapy
The funding reflects continued investor appetite for novel immunotherapy platforms targeting cancers that remain difficult to treat. David Su, Founding Managing Partner at MPCi (搜索), noted that "Excalipoint is our highly recognized next-generation TCE innovation powerhouse. With three independent and cutting-edge technology platforms, it has the potential to break down traditional TCE treatment bottlenecks."
Vicky Li, Executive Director at Centurium Capital (搜索), emphasized the company's transformative potential: "We believe Excalipoint is among the most promising next-generation TCE companies globally. Led by Dr. Lei Fang and Mr. Jielun Zhu, the company combines strong scientific leadership, a differentiated pipeline, and an impressive track record of execution."
Founded under a pioneering China NewCo model that integrates experienced founders, pipeline assets, and venture capital to accelerate drug development, Excalipoint has rapidly evolved into a multi-platform clinical-stage biotechnology company. The company plans to use the new funding to drive value through strategic partnerships and out-licensing while reducing single-asset risk through its diversified pipeline approach.