China’s Abogen Raises $700M to Fund the First Homegrown mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine to Enter Human Trial

Despite having only been around for three years, China’s biotech startup Abogen Biosciences (Abogen) has bagged another successful financial round in 2021. And it might be one of the biggest rounds yet in China’s biotech sector.

Based in Suzhou’s Biobay area, Abogen has raised $700 million in Series C, and the goal is to fund its mRNA vaccine and oncology pipeline. The firm previously scored $92 million in a Series B round in April 2021.

The Series C round was led by Temasek, Invesco Developing Markets Fund, Loyal Valley Capital, GL Ventures, Yunfeng Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Boyu Capital. Other investors included Youshan Capital, Gaorong Capital, Tiger Jade Capital, and AIHC Capital.

Grabbing Eyeballs with its mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine

Founded at the beginning of 2019, Abogen worked with Walvax Biotechnology and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences’ Institute of Biotechnology to deliver a homegrown mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, called ARCoV.

ARCoV is a lipid nanoparticle encapsulated vaccine that targets the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the COVID-19 virus. It was approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to enter Phase 1 clinical trial in June 2020, becoming the first domestic mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to enter human trials. 

Currently, the vaccine has finished the Phase 2 trial and moved on to the global Phase 3 trial in countries such as Mexico, Columbia, and Pakistan. The firm has yet to release data of the Phase 2 trial.

What’s Special About ARCoV?

mRNA technology has proven effective in making potent vaccines against the COVID-19 virus. Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines are two of the success stories. 

While it is still undergoing clinical trials, ARCoV’s thermostability shines through. This means the vaccine can remain effective under room temperature for a period of time, a property other mRNA vaccines have so far failed to achieve.

Both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine require cold chain technology to store in -80 to -60°C (Pfizer/BioNTech) and -25° to -15°C (Moderna) during transport. However, ARCoV can stay stable at 2 to 8℃ for over 6 months and at 4 to 25°C for a week, meaning it would be easier for ARCoV to reach markets that lack proper cold chain or transportation infrastructures.

First GMP mRNA Vaccine Production Site in China

Meanwhile, it’s critical to think ahead and increase the vaccine production capacity in order to scale up once the vaccine is approved. 

In July, Abogen announced the manufacturing site for the mRNA vaccine has finished construction. It will be China’s first GMP mRNA manufacturing facility and is expected to deliver 40 million doses of mRNA vaccines annually.

Author

Tyler Chen

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."- Erma Bombeck