Reforgene completes nearly 100 million RMB Series A financing to accelerate gene editing therapy development

Recently, Reforgene announced the completion of a Series A financing round of nearly 100 million RMB. As a leading gene editing therapy company with core technology and intellectual property, Reforgene said the funds will be used to continue advancing the R&D progress of its existing innovative therapies and to accelerate technology iteration and talent system development. The round was led by Yahui Investment, a well-known institution in the life sciences, with participation from existing shareholder Legend Star. Qiangyun Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor for the financing.

Reforgene is dedicated to the development of new drugs centered on gene editing technology. Its team is one of the earliest internationally to apply gene editing to explore the treatment of genetic diseases, and has continuously accumulated pioneering achievements in thalassemia, genetic eye diseases and other disease directions, with high-level experience in editing system innovation, the construction of novel mouse and large mammal models, and multi-level efficacy assessment. Reforgene is in a stage of rapid development. Its management team includes internationally renowned scientists in the gene editing field, returning experts with research experience at top overseas clinical institutions, and entrepreneurs with successful entrepreneurial experience in the gene industry, and currently has a technical team with strong innovation capability in early discovery, pharmaceutical sciences and clinical development, quality and intellectual property. The company has developed two drug innovation platforms: ex vivo cell therapy and in vivo medicines. Reforgene's mission is to deliver accessible, curative medicines for patients with serious diseases based on revolutionary gene editing technology. It currently has pipeline programs in the blood system, ophthalmology, respiratory system and central nervous system, among which its most advanced beta-thalassemia gene editing therapy is at an internationally leading level in multiple core parameters.

"The completion of this financing will continuously and strongly support Reforgene's rapid growth and help the company gain a leading advantage in the industry," said Dr. Liang Junbin, founder and CEO of Reforgene. "Gene editing medicines are an emerging direction of genetic medicine that can achieve a one-time administration and lifelong cure, and are developing very rapidly. Multiple early clinical data also demonstrate the superior curative value and high-level safety of this technology. Especially for diseases that currently have no cure or poor efficacy, gene editing brings hope to many patients. This is also Reforgene's goal. As a very young drug direction, it still requires the joint efforts of the entire industry. We thank Yahui Investment, a highly forward-looking professional VC institution, and existing shareholder Legend Star for their recognition and support of Reforgene."

As the lead investor of this round, Liu Jiayun, head of investment at Yahui Investment, said: "As a revolutionary technology in the life sciences, CRISPR gene editing tools have enormous development potential in new drug R&D, which is the scientific basis for Yahui Investment's key positioning in the gene editing track. We are delighted to invest in Reforgene and to have the opportunity to support the company's technological innovation and clinical translation. Dr. Liang Junbin, founder of Reforgene, has rich experience in both R&D and entrepreneurship, which is very rare. We look forward to Reforgene, under Dr. Liang's leadership, continuing to accelerate its R&D pipeline and benefiting humanity with the light of science as soon as possible."

As an existing shareholder and participant in this additional investment round, Leng Yan, partner at Legend Star, said: "Legend Star has long followed drug innovation technologies in the healthcare field. We believe that the industrialization of gene editing will provide more trustworthy means for the treatment of human diseases. As an angel investor of Reforgene, we are very pleased to see the company's progress in projects and system building over the past year, and congratulate the company on completing a new financing round and bringing in experienced industry investment institutions. We look forward to more progress and good news in the future."

As the exclusive financial advisor of this round, Yan Guopei, Vice President of Qiangyun Capital, said: "Gene editing is currently the hottest topic in the life sciences. This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to scientists/entrepreneurs in the gene editing field, accelerating industry expectations for the industrialization of this technology. We are very pleased to have facilitated cooperation between Reforgene and well-known investment institutions in this financing, and we will firmly accompany Reforgene's development over the long term."

About Yahui Investment

Yahui Investment is a professional fund focused on early-stage investment in the life sciences. Driven by professional research and guided by scientific threads, it systematically positions itself in innovative drug R&D and breakthrough diagnostic technologies within the life sciences. Yahui Investment is committed to long-term investment in the life sciences, pursuing excess investment returns based on in-depth scientific understanding. Founded in 2015, its core management team has senior investment and research backgrounds in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. To date, Yahui Investment has invested in more than 20 companies in the life sciences and has cultivated leading enterprises in multiple sub-fields.

About Legend Star

Legend Star is a fund focused on early-stage investment in technology innovation enterprises, and has made healthcare one of its key investment areas since 2010, focusing on directions such as innovative biological drugs and therapies, gene technology and services, diagnostic technology and high-value consumables, and digital healthcare. To date, Legend Star has invested in nearly 100 quality medical projects, including Axonics (NASDAQ: AXNX), Kintor Pharmaceutical (9939.HK), Burning Rock Biotech (NASDAQ: BNR), Ribo Life Science, PegBio, Coyote Bioscience, Keymed Biosciences, HiFiBiO Therapeutics and Deepwise AI Lab.