China-based immune-oncology company Elpiscience is currently raising Series B funding which it hopes to complete within the next couple of months.
Darren Ji, chief executive of Elpiscience, told FinanceAsia that the amount of money it is looking for will be larger than the $55 million Series A funding which it raised from Lilly Asia Ventures, Hillhouse Capital and CDH Fund in December last year.
But the money is still not enough, according to Ji. He says that the company needs another two years fully to develop its products as Elpiscience wants to develop best-in-class treatment for the world.
Ji also intends to build a sales team by 2021 after it has completed its research.
Founded in 2017, Elpiscience develops treatments that stimulate the body's immune functions to kill cancer. Compared to traditional therapies like chemotherapy and target-specific drugs, immunotherapy has the smallest number of toxic side effects. And it is proving to be highly effective.
The company is currently developing an antibody therapy with two target spots. It stimulates T-cells in the human immune system while controlling damage to other human cells.
The study is in Phase One clinical trials. Ji says that his technology is the first in the world and he expects it to enter the market by 2024.
Apart from the dual-target spots antibody therapy, Elpiscience has 12 research pipelines that develop new treatments for cancer, six of which stimulate human immunity. The company may have two more products enter Phase Two clinical trials within two years.
“We always need money, and fundraising is a long-term job for a CEO,” Ji admits. “Some new investors expect an IPO in two years. We don’t want quick success and instant benefits. But there will be an IPO, either in Hong Kong or on Nasdaq, as we want to give an exit to our team and investors.”
The biotech market is hot at the moment. Judging from the development of the research, we are likely to see between 10 and 20 Chinese biotech companies go public over the next one or two years, China Renaissance’s head of healthcare and life science Kevin Xie said in a recent interview. China Renaissance is the financial advisor of Elpiscience.
“Foreign drug manufacturers are also repositioning themselves when they see the development of the Chinese market,” said Joe Lai, head of China Renaissance’s Hong Kong healthcare IBD. “And some of them are quite impressed by what Chinese companies have achieved so far. They also want to invest in Chinese biotech companies as a way to find partners.”
Elpiscience partners with several international pharmaceutical companies in multiple pipelines. But the first priority is to lay the groundwork in the Chinese market.
Ji says that the company will start to build its own factory next year and hopes to find a different solution in immuno-oncology.
