Great Bay Bio Completes a Near USD 10M Series A Fundraising

HONG KONG, Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Bay Bio (hereinafter referred to as "GBB") is pleased to announce today the completion of its near USD 10M series A fundraising led by Proxima Ventures. The round was oversubscribed and upsized with participation by many new and existing institutional investors. The investment will accelerate the global commercialization of three GBB AI-driven innovative bioprocessing platforms, namely Klone4.0™, an AI-enabled cell line selection platform, AlfaStaX^®, an AI-enabled cell line stability prediction platform and AlfaMedX^®, an AI-enabled cell culture media development platform.

Currently, Klone4.0^TM, AlfaStaX^®, and AlfaMedX^® have been commercially validated to show improvements in the efficiency of bioprocess development whilst reducing the risk of R&D. Cell line development is a key step in bioprocessing, Klone4.0^TM can pinpoint and select high-yield monoclones within 4 hours. AlfaStaX^® adopts innovative AI algorithms to accurately predict a cell line's stability at 90 days of passage by only using 2 weeks of real-time cell images of candidate cell lines. AlfaMedX^® uses big data mining, deep learning, and transfer learning to construct media formulation models, replacing traditional DOE and metabolic analysis to develop customized cell media formulations, significantly reducing development time and cost. Since the launch of each platform, multiple partnerships have been reached with well-known domestic biopharmaceutical companies, MNCs and leading CDMO platforms, where the performances of each platform have won high satisfaction from partners.

"We are thrilled that many of our new institutional investors are biotech industry-specialist that can bring their strong supportive ecosystem to the table, further bolstering Great Bay Bio's prospects. In addition, I am happy to announce the addition of biotech experts to our board. Their accumulated 40 years of experience and leadership in the industry will help further reinforce Great Bay Bio's differentiation as an industry-disruptive innovator. Right now, we have one of the most unique board compositions in the world, one which include deep business, finance, AI, and biotech expertise", said Kingsley Leung, Co-founder and Chairman of GBB.

Mr. Li Zhe, Managing Partner of Proxima Ventures, commented "Proxima Ventures has continuously kept an eye on the application of global innovative technologies in the healthcare field. Breakthroughs made in artificial intelligence technologies in recent years are now making profound impact and reshaping the process of new drug development and industrialization. In traditional biopharmaceutical R&D, tens of millions of dollars and months of process exploration are required to construct stable highly-expressing cell lines. With rich experience in the industry and forward-looking strategic mindset, Great Bay Bio has pioneered the application of AI technology to solve these pain-points in bioprocessing and made exciting breakthroughs. They have established a whole process of solutions, from high expressing and high stability cell lines construction to industrial mass production, shortening the process optimization timeline from months to weeks, and greatly saving the time and cost of industrial mass production for biomedical companies. Great Bay Bio's platforms and services have been recognized by many well-known customers at home and abroad, and results are being delivered. Proxima is firmly optimistic about Great Bay Bio's leading position and breakthrough in the field of biomedical artificial intelligence, and will strongly support the rapid development and expansion of its businesses."

About Proxima Ventures

Proxima Ventures (Proxima) is a professional venture capital firm focusing on the healthcare industry, supporting outstanding enterprises with innovative technologies or service models that have tremendous potential. Proxima is under the strong leadership of a group of team members with multidisciplinary backgrounds and resourceful networks with hospitals and industry partners, currently managing multiple funds in RMB and US dollar. In addition, Proxima established a leading medical ecosystem for its portfolio to access to high quality clinical and industrial resources, delivering remarkable achievements and making great impacts.

About Great Bay Bio

Great Bay Bio (GBB) is a Hong Kong-based high-tech enterprise dedicated to applying artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies in CMC bioprocessing, ultimately solving numerous pain-points of biopharmaceutical industry, including high failure rates, long development timeline and high costs. Since the company's establishment, it has accumulated massive bioprocessing development data from its 3100 m2 CMC facility, which bolster advance equipment from world-renowned manufacturers. GBB has also successfully brought a number of biologic products to NDA stage, some of which are classified as national class I innovative drugs. Currently, the company has created an intelligent centralized database, where deep learning is being performed to create a next generation, all-encompassing AI-enabled bioprocessing ecosystem.

GBB has attained the titles of National "High-Tech Enterprise" twice in a row by the National High-Tech Enterprise Certification Management Leading Group Office, "Sprouts List Most Valuable Enterprises for Investment in China for the Year 2020" by the Zero2IPO Group, "Top 50 Innovative Biotechnology Companies in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Award 2020" by ZDVC RESEARCH and KPMG China, and ranked Top 15 in the 2021 Merck Greater Bay Area Innovation Bootcamp.

Contact: [email protected]; [email protected]

SOURCE Great Bay Bio