EdiGene Raises $67 Million to Advance Gene Editing Based Programs into the Clinic

Rare Daily Staff

Chinese biotech EdiGene said it completed a $67 million (RMB 450 million) series B financing to advance its gene-edited therapeutics into the clinic and expand its team.

3H Health Investment led the round, with participation from new investors Sequoia Capital China, Alwin Capital, and Kunlun Capital, along with continued support by previous investors IDG Capital, Lilly Asia Venture, Huagai Capital, and Green Pine Capital Partners.

“The round enables us to further scale up and transform our pipeline into clinical-stage, which is also a big step forward in building a globally competitive gene editing company,” said Dong Wei, CEO of EdiGene. “More importantly, we are closer to realizing our mission of bringing innovative and high-quality gene-editing therapies to patients in need.”

Based in China and the United States, EdiGene has established four gene editing-based platforms and is advancing its early stage programs into clinical development for patients with genetic diseases and cancer. The four platforms are ex vivo genome-editing platforms for hematopoietic stem cells and T cells, in vivo therapeutic platform based on RNA base editing, and high-throughput genome-editing screening to discover novel targeted therapies.

The company’s preclinical pipeline includes programs for β-thalassemia, rare metabolic and neuromuscular diseases, and hematologic and solid tumor cancers. In addition, EdiGene has launched GMP manufacturing facility in 2018 in Guangdong Province.

“As one of the most disruptive biomedical technologies, gene editing is rapidly moving toward clinics globally. EdiGene is leading the wave in China, as they have established outstanding research and development capabilities, and more importantly, they have developed an impressive portfolio of proprietary gene editing tools and product candidates,” said Minchuan Wang, partner of 3H Health Investment.

Photo: Dong Wei, CEO of EdiGene