HANGZHOU, China and SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Sciwind Biosciences Co., Ltd., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering and developing innovative therapies to treat metabolic disease, today announced the closing of an $70 million Series C financing. The financing round was co-led by IDG Capital, Loyal Valley Capital and LYFE Capital. Sciwind plans to use the proceeds to advance clinical development of its proprietary GLP-1 receptor agonism candidates and anticipates the following development milestones from the three lead programs:
- XW003 (a long-acting GLP-1 peptide analog optimized for improved biological activity, cost-effective manufacturing, and once weekly administration): top-line data from on-going Phase 2 trials in type 2 diabetes and obesity patients are expected in the second half of 2022.
- XW004 (an oral formulation of GLP-1 peptide analog XW003 suitable for once daily oral administration): on-track to enter Phase 1 clinical trials in Q4 2021 with top-line data expected in the second half of 2022.
- XW014 (a small molecule GLP-1R agonist with the potential to be dosed orally once daily): anticipated to enter Phase 1 clinical trials in the first half of 2022.
“We are very pleased to receive such strong support from our new and existing investors as we continue to advance our highly differentiated product pipeline for the treatment of metabolic disease,” said Dr. Hai Pan, Founder and CEO of Sciwind Biosciences. “With the completion of this Series C financing round, Sciwind is now in great position to rapidly advance our clinical development activities both in China and globally, allowing us to work expediently towards our mission of developing novel and effective therapies that can help patients living with metabolic disease worldwide.”
Sciwind also announced two key appointments to its leadership team: Xinle Wu, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer and Martijn Fenaux, Ph.D. as Senior Vice President, Nonclinical Development and Translational Science. Dr. Wu has more than 15 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, most recently as Senior Scientific Director at Lilly China Innovation and Partnership. He previously held research leadership positions at Lilly China R&D Center and Amgen. Dr. Fenaux also brings more than 15 years experience as an industry leader, entrepreneur, and researcher. Prior to joining Sciwind, he co-founded Terns Pharmaceuticals, led several antiviral discovery efforts at Novartis, and played critical roles in the discovery and early clinical development of multiple drug candidates at Gilead Sciences.
“Dr. Wu and Dr. Fenaux are accomplished industry veterans who bring with them to Sciwind deep knowledge and strong expertise in discovering and developing innovative therapies to treat metabolic disease as well as other diseases. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Wu and Dr. Fenaux to join our R&D leadership team and look forward to working together with them to advance our lead programs as well as to initiate new research programs,” said Dr. Weidong Zhong, President and Chief Strategy Officer of Sciwind.
About Sciwind Biosciences
Sciwind Biosciences is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering and developing innovative therapies to treat metabolic diseases. Its product pipeline consists of potentially first-in-class and best-in-class drug candidates. Sciwind also developed multiple proprietary technologies, including oral peptide and inhaled protein therapeutics delivery platforms and has identified multiple drug candidates based on these core platform technologies. For more information, visit www.sciwindbio.com.
About IDG Capital
Established in 1993, IDG Capital pursues long-term value investing and focuses on developing extraordinary companies through our expertise in private equity and venture capital. Since its inception, IDG Capital has accumulated assets under management of about $23 billion, invested in more than 1,000 companies and achieved over 300 successful exits to date. IDG Capital invests in companies at all stages of development: start-up, growth, maturity, pre-IPO and post-IPO. The size of investment ranges from a few million to several hundred million of U.S. dollars.
About Loyal Valley Capital
Established in 2015, Loyal Valley Capital (LVC) is a research-driven private equity investment firm focused on deep fundamental research and unlocking value through post-investment value-creation. With over $1.6 billion in assets under management, LVC manages capital on behalf of a geographically diversified group of long-term institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, private banks, family offices, and fund of funds managers, from across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
About LYFE Capital
Founded in 2015, LYFE Capital is a global healthcare fund with $1.3 billion in assets under management and over 60 healthcare companies invested. LYFE Capital is actively seeking healthcare companies with exceptional management teams and expansive vision geared towards global markets. We work closely with portfolio companies to support their needs by providing capital and active support in global partnerships, collaborations, regulatory guidance and local market access. With our team of extremely globally acknowledgeable healthcare and investment professionals, we work with flexibility pivoting our investment strategy to match each and every portfolio company’s needs.
Source: Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences Co., Ltd.