Evolutionary Tide Raises Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Pre-A Round, Qiming Venture Partners Co-Leads

Recently, Yanshengchao (Beijing) Biotech Co., Ltd. ("Yanshengchao") successfully completed a Pre-A funding round of several hundred million RMB. This round was co-led by Qiming Venture Partners.

The proceeds will primarily support clinical development of its core pipeline asset YSC001, preclinical development of YSC002, and accelerate the company's international expansion strategy and business development partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies.

Founded in 2022, Yanshengchao builds upon the original research from Tsinghua University School of Medicine in the field of humoral immunity to develop first-in-class (FIC) therapeutics targeting inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, addressing core challenges and highly unmet clinical needs in the field.

Yanshengchao's two current core pipelines have already demonstrated significant potential as global first-in-class assets. YSC001 targets a GPCR to simultaneously deplete pathogenic T and B cell subsets, potentially achieving a combination of precision therapy and safety while pioneering a new approach to immune resetting. This novel mechanism could be broadly applicable across multiple autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, vitiligo, pemphigoid, and dermatomyositis. The drug candidate has shown efficacy significantly superior to existing positive controls in preclinical studies and is planned to enter clinical trials this year.

YSC002 targets a protease that drives chronic inflammatory diseases (originally published in Nature), and is being developed concurrently in antibody, peptide, and small molecule formats, with potential applications in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis — representing a breakthrough in targeted therapy. YSC002's candidate molecules have demonstrated superior efficacy compared to positive controls in preclinical studies, with development progressing smoothly.

Yanshengchao will continue to expand multiple innovative pipelines with FIC potential based on the scientific research from Tsinghua University School of Medicine, with YSC003 already approved for initiation and entering active development.

Dr. Yifeng Wang, Co-founder and CEO of Yanshengchao, stated: "We are grateful for the vision and commitment of this round's investors, and for the continued trust and support of our existing shareholders. This financing will inject powerful new momentum into our growth, significantly accelerating the development of our original innovative immunotherapies that originate from China and benefit patients worldwide. The funds will be prioritized to advance multiple self-developed pipelines with FIC potential, targeting refractory diseases in autoimmunity that have long plagued patients and aiming to break through the limitations of current therapies. We firmly believe that only by developing original new drugs with novel mechanisms that address fundamental clinical pain points can we truly fulfill our promise to patients. Every R&D decision at our company is centered on our founding mission: to provide autoimmune patients with genuinely effective treatments that meet their most urgent needs."

Kan Chen, Partner at Qiming Venture Partners and Co-Head of Healthcare, stated: "We are honored to witness and participate in this important milestone for Yanshengchao. We firmly believe in the team's breakthrough exploration and original innovation capabilities in autoimmune diseases. Yanshengchao's core pipelines target severe indications that existing therapies cannot adequately address, where patients urgently need solutions, and their unique mechanisms of action have already demonstrated tremendous potential to solve fundamental clinical pain points in preclinical studies. Qiming Venture Partners will fully leverage our deep expertise in healthcare and global network to strongly support Yanshengchao in accelerating the development of world-class innovative pipelines, helping the company bring breakthrough therapies from China to global patients sooner, and jointly advancing China's innovative drugs from 'running alongside' to 'taking the lead.'"

This funding round was led by Guosheng Capital (Chengdu Bio-town Fund), with Qiming Venture Partners, YuanSheng Ventures, and Chengdu Technology Innovation Investment Group as co-leads, and follow-on investments from Shoufa Development, Shuimu Tsinghua Alumni Fund, Wuming Ventures, and other institutions.

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Qiming Venture Partners was founded in 2006. The firm currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $9.5 billion. Since its inception, Qiming Venture Partners has focused on investing in outstanding early and growth-stage companies in Technology and Healthcare.

To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies, of which more than 210 have listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through M&A and other means. Over 80 portfolio companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.

Many companies in Qiming Venture Partners' portfolio have grown into the most influential players in their respective fields, including Xiaomi (01810.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI, 09626.HK), Zhihu (NYSE:ZH, 02390.HK), Roborock (688169.SH), UBTECH (09880.HK), WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD), Insta360 (688775.SH), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ, 03347.HK), Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB, 09688.HK), CanSino Biologics (688185.SH, 06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR), MicroPort EP MedTech (688617.SH), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), Amoy Diagnostics (300685.SZ), Berry Genomics (000710.SZ), SinoCellTech (688520.SH), Yuanxin Technology, Insilico Medicine, MediLink Therapeutics, LaNova Medicines, Zhipu AI, StepFun, Biren Technology, and others.