What’s new: Chinese mRNA vaccine developer Suzhou Abogen Biosciences raised $3 million following a $7.2 million C round of financing in August.
The fundraising was led by Softbank Vision Fund and existing investor 5Y Capital. Other investors include Chimera Abu Dhabi, Oriental Fortune Capital, Jinyi Capital, New Frontier Corp., IMO Ventures and South Korean financial services group Mirae Asset Financial Group.
The three-year-old startup said the funds will be used to accelerate clinical development of its potential Covid-19 vaccine and to expand the pipeline of other vaccines.
The background: Abogen’s mRNA vaccine candidate, known as ARCoV-005, is being jointly developed with a research institute affiliated with the Chinese military and Walvax Biotechnology. The vaccine is being tested in a Phase 3 clinical trial in China, Nepal, Indonesia and Mexico.
MRNA vaccines, which contain the virus’s genetic sequence to instruct cells to make antigens that elicit a response from the immune system, have shown higher efficacy as booster shots than inactivated-virus shots, according to some studies. China hasn’t yet approved any mRNA vaccines for public use, although the advanced vaccine technology has been widely used in the West.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (hello@caixin.com)
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