2019年4月10日，美國創(chuàng)新藥公司Cullgen Inc.宣布，獲得來自著名風險投資公司紅杉資本中國及弘暉資本1600萬美元的A輪融資。Cullgen是一家致力于小分子蛋白質降解藥物研發(fā)的生物技術公司。本輪融資將支持Cullgen在腫瘤學和其他疾病領域中靶向蛋白質降解的新藥研發(fā)，以及研究可用作靶向蛋白質降解復合物的新型E3配體，并推動蛋白質講解藥物的產品管線進展。
“我們很高興得到紅杉資本中國和弘暉資本的支持”，Cullgen董事長兼總裁羅楹博士說，“自2018年初成立以來，我們已經取得了顯著的進步。我們的目標蛋白質降解平臺具有很高的領先水平，并且我們的多種臨床前項目正在向臨床研究迅速推進中。除了這些核心科學進步之外，在過去的一年中，公司還組建了一個杰出的科學顧問委員會，建立了一個優(yōu)秀的高級管理團隊和一個先進的實驗室設施，其中包括40多名才華橫溢的科學家。我們很高興紅杉資本中國和弘暉資本成為Cullgen開發(fā)用于治療重大疾病的新型白象蛋白質降解劑的使命的一部分?！?/span>
Cullgen Receives $16 Million Series A Investment to Advance Pipeline of Targeted Protein Degraders
Series A financing led by two leading global venture capital firms – Sequoia Capital China and Highlight Capital
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cullgen Inc. (Cullgen), a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of targeted protein degraders for the treatment of diseases lacking effective therapeutic approaches, today announced it has received a $16 million Series A financing from two prominent international venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital China (Sequoia) and Highlight Capital (HC). The financing will support the development of Cullgen’s internal pipeline of targeted protein degraders in oncology and other diseases, as well as the company’s efforts to discover novel E3 ligands that may be used as part of a targeted protein degrader complex. Sequoia will also assign a board member to join the Cullgen board.
“We are delighted to have the support of Sequoia and HC”, said Dr. Ying Luo, Chairman and President of Cullgen “Since our founding in early 2018 we have made significant advancement of our targeted protein degradation platform which has directly led to the identification of several pre-clinical assets that we are rapidly advancing towards the clinic. In addition to these core scientific advancements, over the past year the company has assembled a distinguished board of scientific advisors, put in place an outstanding senior management team, and established a state-of-the-art laboratory facility that is run by more than 40 highly talented employees. We are grateful that Sequoia and HC will be part of Cullgen’s mission to develop novel targeted protein degraders for the treatment of debilitating diseases.”
About Cullgen Inc.:
Cullgen is a drug discovery company leveraging ubiquitin-mediated, small molecule-induced protein degradation technology. The company's research programs focus on novel treatment for cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. For more information, visit www.cullgen.com.
About uSMITE?:
uSMITE? (ubiquitin mediated small molecule induced target elimination) is Cullgen’s proprietary targeted protein degradation platform that is used to identify novel degraders that attach to a disease-causing protein and then signal the body’s ubiquitin proteasome system to eliminate the protein.
About Sequoia China (Sequoia):
Sequoia team helps daring founders build legendary companies. In partnering with Sequoia, companies benefit from our unmatched community and the lessons we’ve learned over 47 years. As “The Entrepreneurs Behind The Entrepreneurs”, Sequoia focuses on four sectors: TMT, healthcare, consumer/service, and industrial technology with a privilege of working with more than 500 companies in China over the past 14 years.
About Highlight Capital (HC):
HC currently manages both RMB & USD funds with a total AUM of nearly US$1.5 billion. Since the inception in 2014, the firm has invested in over 40 deals. HC is dedicated to supporting healthcare companies to generate robust and sustained growth prospect, and partnering with entrepreneurs of dedication and the highest standard.
