Cambridge, MA, Rotterdam, NL, Suzhou CN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harbour BioMed (HBM) today announced completion of its Series C financing of $102.8 Million to accelerate development of its growing portfolio of next generation biologics targeting cancer, immunologic diseases, and COVID-19. The financing was led by new investors, Hudson Bay Capital, followed by OrbiMed, Country Garden VC, GTJA Investment Group, Octagon Capital, and Sage Partners, with additional investment from existing investor Greater Bay Area Investment Fund. The round follows a $75 million Series B+ financing the Company completed in March 2020.

“The participation of new and current investors underscores enthusiasm for our clinical portfolio, our antibody discovery and development engine, as well as our strategy to build a leading global biopharmaceutical company,” said Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Harbour BioMed. “We have made great progress with our clinical programs and multiple promising, bi- and monospecific antibodies from our discovery engine that are rapidly moving towards clinical trials. The funding will support final development and initial commercialization of our late stage portfolio and advancement of both our earlier stage discovery and preclinical molecules.” The Company has over 30 programs in its pipeline, including an anti-CD73 monoclonal antibody (mAb), a bi-specific anti-BCMAxCD3 mAb and, newly announced, an anti-CCR8 mAb, all in preclinical development and targeted at a variety of cancers.

Ms. Jo-Wen Lin, Asian Healthcare Portfolio Manager at Hudson Bay Capital, said: "We are pleased to support Harbour BioMed and its management team to further develop its pipeline of leading immunology and oncology drugs. We believe the Company’s innovative approach, with next generation technologies that target unmet medical needs, presents an exciting growth opportunity."

Ms. Iris Wang, Managing Director of OrbiMed Asia, commented, "Harbour BioMed has built an impressive clinical pipeline and at the same time created a solid foundation for next generation therapeutics through its transgenic mouse platforms. These preclinical programs along with the Company’s clinical assets create new opportunities targeting major indications with substantial global medical needs."

With a patient-centric approach to address unmet medical needs across the world, HBM currently has five products in clinical development. Key programs include:

• HBM9161 (Batoclimab) is a first-in-class fully human anti-FcRn mAb, that significantly reduces pathogenic IgG, with potential to become a portfolio-in-a-product for a variety of autoimmune indications. HBM has received IND approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and is conducting clinical trials in myasthenia gravis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, immune thrombocytopenia and Graves‘ ophthalmopathy.

• HBM9036 (Tanfanercept) is a novel TNF receptor-1 fragment to treat dry eye disease by inhibiting TNF?. Phase 2 clinical trials with the drug in the U.S. and China have shown promising signals of both clinical efficacy and safety in treating moderate-to-severe dry eye disease. Preparations for the Phase 3 registration trial in China are currently underway.

• HBM4003 is a next-generation anti-CTLA4 mAb in Phase 1 clinical studies in Australia for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. The molecule is the first of several fully human mAbs in development at HBM based on the Company’s heavy chain only (HCAb) technology. HBM4003 has shown extremely promising anti-tumor activity and a favorable safety profile in preclinical studies, suggesting it has potential in both mono- as well as combination therapy with other immuno-oncology drugs. The U.S. FDA recently cleared HBM’s IND to initiate US clinical trials; the NMPA has accepted an IND application for HBM4003 to begin clinical trials in China.

HBM is also building a robust COVID-19 pipeline. Along with Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Center, HBM recently announced a research collaboration with AbbVie for a monoclonal antibody termed 47D11 for therapeutic/prophylactic use against SARS-CoV2. This fully human antibody, designed to facilitate its development and minimize immune-related side effects, targets a conserved region of the virus’ spike protein, and has been shown in studies published in Nature Communications to block infection by the SARS-CoV-2 (commonly known as COVID-19) and SARS-CoV. This cross-neutralizing feature of the antibody may have potential in mitigating diseases caused by future-emerging related coronaviruses. This and other mAbs in HBM’s COVID-19 pipeline are also being currently tested for diagnostic purposes. In addition, the Company also has an ongoing collaboration with Mt. Sinai Health System (New York) for discovering antibodies against SARS-CoV2 using its proprietary H2L2 Harbour Mice® platform.

HBM’s pipeline overview can be found here.

About Harbour BioMed

Harbour BioMed is a global, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics in the fields of immuno-oncology, immunologic diseases, and COVID-19. The Company is building its proprietary pipeline through internal R&D programs, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners and select acquisitions.

The Company's internal discovery programs are centered around its two patented transgenic mouse platforms (Harbour Mice®) for generating fully human monoclonal antibodies: heavy chain only antibodies (HCAb), and H2L2 for conventional antibodies. The Company integrates several next generation technologies including Harbour Mice®, HBICE™ immune engager, and the Beacon® Optofluidic System to significantly accelerate its discovery efforts for novel molecules. Harbour BioMed also licenses the platforms to companies and academic institutions. The Company has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and Suzhou & Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit www.harbourbiomed.com

About Hudson Bay Capital

Hudson Bay Capital (“HBC”) is a multi-billion-dollar asset management firm operating in New York and London. With over 80 employees, HBC has been managing assets on behalf of outside investors since 2006. The firm invests across multiple strategies by utilizing rigorous fundamental analysis and seeks to identify value and growth opportunities that are uncorrelated to each other and market indices. HBC promotes an integrated team culture emphasizing collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas across sectors and strategies. Our dedicated investment team seeks to achieve outstanding performance by investing in companies that are poised for growth or are undervalued while maintaining a focus on risk management.

About OrbiMed

OrbiMed is a leading investment firm dedicated exclusively to the healthcare sector, with over $14 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the spectrum of healthcare companies, from venture capital start-ups to large multinational corporations, utilizing a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, royalty/credit funds and other investment vehicles. OrbiMed maintains its headquarters in New York City, with additional offices in San Francisco, Shanghai, Mumbai, Herzliya and Hong Kong. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, with the flexibility to provide equity and debt capital solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of our portfolio companies. The firm's global team of over 80 professionals brings the resources and experience required to be an exceptional long-term partner in building world-class healthcare companies.

About Country Garden Venture Capital

Country Garden Venture Capital (CGVC) was established as a directly affiliated equity investment department of Country Garden Group in January 2019 and is responsible for the Group's equity investments other than real estate. Adhering to the investment strategy of "industry empowerment and co-creation of value", CGVC is dedicated to both the financial investments and strategic M&A’s. CGVC has formed a specialized and multi-level investment portfolio through different stages of investing like VC and PE. CGVC has invested a number of star enterprises including Beike, Qhealth, Landspace, Saifeiya, among others. This year, CGVC will continue to rigorously select high-quality investment targets and stay focused on investment fields such as the upstream & downstream in real estate industry chain, healthcare, consumer products, logistics & supply chain, advanced manufacturing, and new infrastructure.

About GTJA Investment Group

Founded in 2001, GIG is dedicated to investment in the healthcare industry with a focus on strategic equity investment. Currently, GIG has the largest healthcare investment team in China and has established a platform for facilitating investments in the healthcare sector. To achieve the commitment and capitalize on vast opportunities worldwide, GIG has invested in more than 140 companies, 70 of which are in the healthcare industry.

About Octagon Capital

Founded in 2019, Octagon Capital is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare companies. 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 and established asset managers.

About Sage Partners Fund

Sage Partners is a Hong Kong-based private investment management company managed by a team of well-experienced healthcare specialists. Sage Partners focuses on investment opportunities across a spectrum of healthcare companies in both public and private markets by deploying a long-term fundamental-based approach.

About Greater Bay Area Fund

Greater Bay Area Fund was jointly established by multinational large-scale industrial institutions, financial institutions, and new economic enterprises. It seeks to leverage the historical opportunities of the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the construction of an International Innovation and Technology Hub, focusing on technological innovation, industrial upgrades, quality of life, smart city and all other related industries. It offers financial support for outstanding entrepreneurs and enterprises, connecting industrial and financial resources, achieving risk-adjusted long-term returns for shareholders and investors, and contributing positively to economic and social development.