Adcentrx Therapeutics Announces Completion of $38 million Series A+ Financing Led by Eight Roads Ventures

Funds will empower Adcentrx to progress its pipeline of novel antibody-drug conjugates into clinical development

SAN DIEGO and SHANGHAI, April 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Adcentrx Therapeutics ("Adcentrx"), a biotechnology company dedicated to revolutionizing Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) therapeutics for cancer and other life-threatening diseases, announces the closing of a $38 million Series A+ financing. The round was led by Eight Roads Ventures, with participation from F-Prime Capital, ABio-X, Delta Capital, Trinity Innovation Fund, and other strategic investors. Life Venture Partners and Lighthouse Capital acted as Adcentrx's financial advisors. Adcentrx intends to use the proceeds from the financing to advance its proprietary ADC therapeutic pipeline into the clinic.

ADCs are a class of therapies that combine the target specificity of antibodies with the potency of conventional chemotherapy drugs. This class has revolutionized the treatment landscape in oncology with the potential to positively impact other serious diseases. Adcentrx differentiates itself by leveraging its team's industry-leading experience in ADC drug development as well as deep expertise in chemistry and biology. The team has pioneered the development of an ADC technology toolbox addressing key components of protein conjugate design to solve challenges that arose in previous generations of ADCs. Adcentrx implements this optimized approach to fuel the development of a robust pipeline of first-in-class and best-in-class therapies. The company's lead candidate, ADRX-0706, is anticipated to enter a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial in the second half of 2023. Adcentrx is developing additional candidates in parallel with the goal of advancing at least one into the clinic each year.

"We are thrilled to have Eight Roads and our investors supporting our mission to bring innovative treatments to patients," said Hui Li, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Adcentrx. "Over the last two years, we have made significant progress advancing our emerging therapeutic pipeline that implements our proprietary and differentiated technology platform. This new round of funding from our investors will enable Adcentrx to quickly advance our safer and more efficacious conjugate therapies for patients in need. This year will be pivotal for Adcentrx, when we transition from the discovery stage into a clinical stage company."

"ADCs as a therapeutic modality have flourished in recent years with a transformative inflow of active investment and strategic transactions. Adcentrx has demonstrated good potential of developing differentiated ADCs for unmet medical needs" commented Tao Huang, Ph.D., Principal of Eight Roads Ventures. "We are very excited to lead this round of financing to empower Adcentrx to accelerate its work in bringing new hope to patients in need."

"Through its innovative work in the ADC field, Adcentrx exemplifies the type of company that ABio-X was designed to support as a global platform for developing the next generation healthcare companies. We are pleased to join together with other quality investors in this financing round and look forward to continuing our support of Adcentrx through the platform and board representation," added Jeff Jonas, President and CEO of ABio-X.

"Adcentrx has made significant progress in building its preclinical pipeline and platform technology since our initial investment," said Meng Jiang, Head, Venture Capital at CBC Group. "Together with our ABio-X colleagues, we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to support the company's continued growth and development."

"As an innovation company with a global vision, Adcentrx leverages its technology platform to address the challenges of ADC drug development," commented Lei Hong, Executive Director of Lighthouse Capital. "It is a privilege to participate in this round of financing that attracted investment from renowned funds and industry players, indicating the company's growing prominence within the industry. We look forward to Adcentrx's continued progress of advancing its novel ADCs into the clinic."

For more information about Adcentrx and its innovative ADC technology, please visit https://adcentrx.com.

About Adcentrx Therapeutics
Adcentrx is a biotechnology company focused on accelerating breakthroughs in protein conjugate therapeutic development for cancer and other life-threatening diseases. By combining the targeting precision of biologics and the disease fighting power of small molecule payloads, Adcentrx strives to develop next-generation targeted therapies for improving patient treatment options.

About Eight Roads Ventures
Eight Roads Ventures is a global proprietary investment firm backed by Fidelity, managing over $11 billion of assets across China, India, Europe, Israel, Japan and the U.S. Our 50-year history of investing includes partnerships with over 300 healthcare and technology companies globally. Some of Eight Roads Ventures' global investments include Alibaba, Beam Therapeutics, Pony.ai, Innovent Biologics, Insilico Medicine, Hibob, Medbanks, Semma Therapeutics and WuXi PharmaTech.

About F-Prime
F-Prime Capital is a global venture capital firm investing in healthcare and technology. For the past 50 years, its independent venture capital group has had the privilege of backing great entrepreneurs building groundbreaking companies.

About ABio-X
ABio-X was founded in 2021 by CBC Group, Asia's largest healthcare-dedicated asset management firm headquartered in Singapore. ABio-X operates with a mission to incubate next-generation companies that bring transformative medicines and solutions to the global market.

About Delta Capital
Founded in 2010, Delta Capital is a leading early-growth and growth equity investment fund platform in China. Delta's investment strategy focuses on early growth equity investments in Technology (semiconductor value chain, AI, biotech) and Consumer Services sectors. The firm has a stable and highly experienced team of over fifteen professionals who are experts in their respective fields. With its expertise in early growth equity investment and a focus on high-growth companies, Delta Capital is a prominent player in China's venture capital market.

About Trinity Innovation Fund
Trinity Innovation Fund (TIF) is dedicated to investing in biomedical innovations. TIF's limited partners include renowned biopharmaceutical companies and investment institutions. As an investor, TIF helps passionate scientists and entrepreneurs develop ground-breaking scientific research into successful corporate ventures. Partnering with scientists and entrepreneurs, TIF aims to transform innovations into cures for humanity.

About Lighthouse Capital
Lighthouse Capital, the most active new generation boutique investment bank in China. Founded in 2014, the firm is a fast-growing boutique investment bank serving enterprises with a global vision, committed to facilitating industrial upgrading and development through capital services and ecological empowerment. Lighthouse's services include private equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, asset management, securities underwriting, and industrial development advisory.

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SOURCE Adcentrx Therapeutics