Alebund Pharmaceuticals Raises $54.5 Million in Series B+ Financing Round to Fuel Development of Renal Disease Treatment

SHANGHAI, Sept. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alebund Pharmaceuticals ("Alebund" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative therapies for the treatment of renal diseases and related chronic conditions, today announced that it has secured $54.5 million in its Series B+ financing round. This round was led by 3H Health Investment, Loyal Valley Capital and Morningside Ventures, followed by YuanBio Venture Capital, Octagon Capital, Verition Fund Management and HT Capital. Existing Shareholders including Lilly Asia Ventures, Quan Capital, a prominent sovereign wealth fund, 3E Bioventures Capital and Sherpa Healthcare Partners also took part in the financing. Proceeds raised in this round will help accelerate the development of Alebund's clinical programs, the construction of the manufacturing site, the research of pre-clinical assets, and the expansion of Company's talent pool.

As China's first biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel renal therapies, the latest extension of capital injection came only four months after the $60 million B round, highlighting the global investors' confidence in renal disease drug innovation and their recognition of Alebund's robust capabilities and deep expertise.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), which poses growing threat to public health worldwide, has great potential in patient demand due to a lack of diagnosis and treatment. The Company has built a diversified and balanced pipeline of drug candidates after three years of rapid growth, targeting a range of major renal diseases, including CKD/Dialysis complications, IgA nephropathy, diabetic kidney disease, and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The most clinically-advanced product in the Company's pipeline, which has best-in-class potential in the treatment of hyperphosphatemia, is currently under Phase II clinical trial and is expected to start Phase III registrational study next year.

Dr. Gavin Xia, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alebund, said, "The B+ financing round once again shows global investors' strong belief in Alebund's capabilities to develop novel kidney disease drugs. We are very grateful to the new and existing investors who support us to maintain our leading position in renal therapy innovation and to provide global renal patients with safe and effective therapies soon."

Dr. Minchuan Wang, Partner of 3H Health Investment commented, "Renal diseases are among the most prevalent chronic diseases and there're huge unmet needs. Alebund has established impressive pipeline, and more importantly, has built a team with outstanding clinical development experience and highly efficient execution. We are pleased to co-lead the Series B+ financing and are excited to join force with Alebund and other investors to bring innovative therapies to renal diseases patients in China and globally. We look forward to contributing our clinical, business, and policy resources to further strengthen the company's capabilities, and are confident that Alebund is well-positioned to be a leader in renal disease therapeutics."

Roy Xie, Partner of Loyal Valley Capital, said, "We have been paying attention to the field of nephropathy for a long time, and believe that there is an immense unmet need in this field in China and even internationally. Specifically, patients with nephropathy have enormous base and huge complications, and effective drugs are limited. Alebund Pharmaceuticals has been deeply involved in nephropathy and has established a luxuriant and distinct new drug pipeline. The rich R&D experience and efficient execution of Alebund's team also greatly impressed us. In the future, Loyal Valley will continuously support Alebund including the development of innovative drug products which could bring benefit to patients with nephropathy."

Jacky Chen, Founder and Managing Partner of YuanBio Venture Capital, noted, "There is huge unmet demand in Chronic Kidney Disease and in China, innovative biopharmaceutical companies dedicated to renal diseases are quite rare. Alebund has built extensive product pipelines driven by its high efficiency and rich industry experience. We believe Alebund will grow into a unique flagship company in this field in China and even globally, benefiting more patients."

Dr. Marietta Wu, Managing Director of Quan Capital which led the B funding round, said, "Alebund has made significant progress and demonstrated strong growth potentials. We are pleased that the company has been recognized by numerous investors. We also look forward to working with other investors to continue to support the growth and development of the company."

About Alebund Pharmaceuticals

Alebund is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company and is dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies and to providing better clinical solutions to patients with kidney diseases and related chronic conditions.

Alebund has built a diversified and balanced pipeline of drug candidates targeting a range of renal diseases, including chronic kidney disease (CKD)/dialysis complications, IgA nephropathy, diabetic kidney disease, and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Alehund's pipeline comprises both small-molecule and biologic assets.

About 3H Health Investment

3H Health Investment is a dedicated healthcare venture firm. It focuses on unmet medical needs and invest in emerging fields of science and medicine to deliver breakthroughs to patients. Leveraging our extensive resources with clinical institutions, industry partners and policy institutes. It builds leading innovative healthcare companies together with our partners.

About Loyal Valley Capital

Loyal Valley Capital was founded in 2015 by Andy Lin, an experienced investor and accomplished entrepreneur. LVC is a thematic, research-driven private equity firm with strong entrepreneurial culture that invests in companies positioned to benefit from the secular industry transformations in China. With over $3.2 billion of assets under management, LVC mainly focuses on the following segments: New Consumer, Healthcare, and Advanced Manufacturing.

About Morningside Ventures

Morningside Ventures was founded in 1986 by the Chan Family of Hong Kong. Since its establishment, Morningside has been focusing on trends of the forefront life science and healthcare industries over the world, spreading its business scope and investment footprint over North America, Europe and Greater China. Morningside comprises a group of investment professionals who are entrepreneurial, have deep industry knowledge and profound experience in venture capital management.

About Yuanbio Ventures

Established in 2013, YuanBio Venture Capital is a venture capital firm focusing on early and growth stage companies in the healthcare industry. With a global vision, the firm is headquartered in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and has offices in Beijing and Shenzhen. Currently it manages 8 funds in total, including 3 RMB funds, 2 USD funds and 3 angel funds, with an aggregated asset of USD 1.1 billion. There are over 120 companies in our portfolio, covering biopharma, medical devices, IVD and healthcare services.

About Octagon Capital

Founded in 2019, Octagon Capital Advisors LP is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in both public and private healthcare companies, specifically in the United States and China.  Octagon Capital strives to build concentrated long-term investments and work with our portfolio management teams as partners.  Octagon Capital manages capital on behalf of global institutions such as university endowments, non-profit foundations, family offices, pension funds and established asset managers.

About Verition Fund Management

Verition Fund Management LLC is a $4.2 billion investment manager founded in 2008 by Nick Maounis (CEO) and Josh Goldstein (COO). Verition's main focus is a multi-strategy, multi-manager hedge fund focused on global investment strategies including Global Credit, Global Convertible, Volatility & Capital Structure Arbitrage, Event-Driven Investing, Equity Long/Short & Capital Markets Trading, and Global Quantitative Trading.

About HT Capital

HT Capital is an independent, single family-controlled financial organization specializing in Private Offerings, Fund of Funds and Asset Management, with 20 years of investment track record in over 100 direct and co-investment opportunities across healthcare and technology deals.

About Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV)

Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV) is a leading biomedical venture capital firm established in 2008. Our vision is to become the trusted partner for exceptional entrepreneurs seeking smart capital and to build great companies developing breakthrough products that treat diseases and improve human health.

About Quan Capital

Quan Capital is a life sciences venture capital firm with strong China expertise and global capabilities. We discover, incubate, and grow next-generation life science companies in early and growth stage, worldwide. Our portfolio companies pioneer differentiated therapies and enabling technologies to address major human diseases with high unmet medical needs.

Quan has offices in Shanghai, Menlo Park and Boston. Our investment professionals combine their strong expertise in both science and business with their diverse experiences in global drug development and healthcare investments, and they leverage their broad network worldwide to help maximize the company's value across geographies and development stages.

About 3E Bioventures

3E Bioventures Capital is dedicated to investing in cutting-edge life sciences and biomedical technologies, with a focus on breakthrough first-in-class therapies and disruptive cross-disciplinary innovations in medical devices and diagnostics. 3E Bioventures takes on a science-driven, entrepreneur-friendly investment philosophy by working closely with companies and research institutions to develop drugs or products that have strong unmet medical needs. With offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and the San Francisco Bay Area, 3E Bioventures leverages its experience, capabilities, and network to help companies tap into markets and resources across the Pacific and advance with greater speed and capital efficiency.

About Sherpa Healthcare Partners

Sherpa Healthcare Partners ("Sherpa") was founded in 2018. The founders previously worked together in one of China's leading venture capital firms, built and led its professional healthcare investment team since 2011, set up the dedicated healthcare investment fund and responsible for healthcare investment. The founders have been teamed together in close co-operation, built on shared values, mutual trust, and complementary capabilities. Sherpa has invested in leading companies in many key areas, such as Pharma, GeneTech, MedTech and Medical services. From 2011 to 2020, the team has gone through 4 vintage year cycles and made over 100 investments. Sherpa has the honor to work with many outstanding entrepreneurs and grow together with them.

SOURCE Alebund Pharmaceuticals