Zenitar Raises Nearly 400 Million Yuan in B+ Round Led by Qiming Venture Partners
Zenitar is a structure-based biology and AI-driven innovative drug R&D company, focused on unmet clinical needs in major therapeutic areas including oncology, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and neurological disorders. The company is dedicated to discovering, developing, and commercializing first-in-class and best-in-class innovative medicines.
Recently, Zenitar (成都赜灵生物医药科技有限公司) announced the completion of a nearly RMB 400 million financing round. This round was led by Qiming Venture Partners.
The funding will primarily be used to advance multiple globally competitive innovative drugs into pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials, and to support the continued expansion of new R&D pipelines. Meanwhile, Zenitar will strengthen its three core technology platforms — the "Structural Biology Platform," "AI-Driven Drug Design Platform," and "Organoid-PDX Dual-Track Validation Platform." Leveraging these platforms, Zenitar is accelerating the development of differentiated molecular scaffolds and novel target-based innovative drug pipelines, committed to addressing unmet clinical needs.
Product display of Zenitar's clinical pipeline candidates ZL-82, PM, FM, and ZL-85FA (from left to right)
Founded in 2019, Zenitar is an innovative drug R&D company driven by structural biology and artificial intelligence. The company focuses on major unmet medical needs in areas including oncology, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and neurological disorders, dedicated to discovering, developing, and commercializing First-in-Class (FIC) and Best-in-Class (BIC) innovative drugs. The company has built a comprehensive innovation platform covering the full lifecycle of new drug R&D, with end-to-end capabilities spanning AI molecular design, structural biology, organoid-based high-throughput screening, PDX model construction, CMC research, clinical strategy development and execution, and new drug registration — continuously enabling efficient translation from source innovation to clinical value.
Currently, Zenitar has independently developed seven globally differentiated and internationally competitive wholly-owned products, building a pipeline across multiple major disease areas, with one indication in pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials and five indications in Phase 2. The company's core product, Purinostat Mesylate (PM), is the world's first highly selective HDAC inhibitor in single-agent clinical trials for relapsed/refractory lymphoma. To date, PM monotherapy has completed Phase 1 trials for hematologic malignancies and Phase 2a/2b trials for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL) in multicenter clinical trials across China, while simultaneously conducting Phase 1/2 trials for T-cell lymphoma, solid tumors, and breast cancer. In the Phase 2a r/r DLBCL study, the objective response rate (ORR) reached 69.0%, non-inferior to and even superior to bispecific antibody and ADC combination therapies (ORR approximately 50%-65%). The product has now successfully advanced to pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials.
Another flagship product, Flonoltinib Maleate (FM), is a highly selective JAK2/FLT3/CDK6 triple-target inhibitor with FIC potential, demonstrating significant and breakthrough efficacy in the clinical development of myelofibrosis (MF). In the primary endpoint (IRC-assessed 24-week spleen volume response rate), over 80% of patients in the FM treatment group achieved ≥35% reduction in spleen volume (SVR35). Moreover, in some FM-treated patients, significant reduction in bone marrow fibrosis was observed (assessed by serial bone marrow biopsy pathology), with some cases showing histological reversal. Flonoltinib Maleate is expected to become an important treatment option for myeloproliferative neoplasm patients, driving evolution in the therapeutic landscape of this disease. Its unique globally first-in-class mechanism of action and currently observed clinical benefits position it as a potentially superior therapy in myelofibrosis — an indication with significant unmet medical need — and it is about to enter pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials.
To date, Zenitar has accumulated 34 invention patents, including 17 international patents; another 45 international and domestic patents are pending. The company has obtained a total of 19 clinical approvals from China's National Medical Products Administration and the US FDA.
By deeply integrating its three core technology platforms — "structural biology analysis," "AI drug design," and "organoid-PDX dual-track validation" — Zenitar has successfully built a unique "end-to-end" innovative drug R&D engine, seamlessly spanning the full-chain R&D process from target validation, molecular design, and molecular optimization to in vivo validation, continuously driving original innovative drugs with novel target mechanisms and differentiated molecular structures to accelerate into clinical development, to address major unmet medical needs globally.
01/
Small-Molecule New Drug Discovery Platform
Integrating Structural Biology and AI Drug Design
Zenitar's trinity innovation engine combining structural biology, AI drug design, and organoid-PDX dual-track validation continuously empowers global new drug R&D. Leveraging its deep expertise in structural biology analysis, the Zenitar team has, for the first time globally, revealed three novel drug-binding sites on tubulin and their unique mechanisms of action — a milestone original discovery that establishes entirely new structural foundations and design paradigms for developing next-generation ADC drug payloads based on tubulin. To address bottlenecks in molecular design and optimization for small-molecule innovative drug R&D, the company has independently built multiple original AI drug design algorithm modules: the Local Structure-Directed molecular generation algorithm (LSDC) — significantly enhancing molecular scaffold diversity and efficiently exploring novel chemical space; the multi-dimensional coarse-grained data fusion molecular generation algorithm (CMD-GEN) — improving molecular generation efficiency and precision, optimizing design pathways; and the physics formula-guided brain permeability prediction algorithm (CMD-FGKp, uu) — high-precision prediction of drug brain delivery potential (Kp, uu), accelerating CNS drug development. This AI matrix of innovative algorithms substantially enhances the innovativeness of molecular design, the accuracy of druggability prediction, and overall R&D efficiency.
02/
High-Throughput Organoid Screening Platform
and PDX Pharmacodynamics Evaluation Platform
In building its preclinical research system, Zenitar has leveraged the rich industry-academia-research integration resources of West China Hospital, Sichuan University to construct an organoid drug screening platform covering major and refractory tumors including liver cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and glioblastoma. This platform highly simulates the authentic tumor microenvironment of patients, significantly shortening early-stage drug screening cycles and improving the reliability of preclinical predictions and clinical translation success rates.
Meanwhile, drawing on long-term technical accumulation, the company has systematically established PDX model platforms covering multiple genetic mutations and drug-resistant models for hematologic malignancies including B-cell lymphoma, T-cell lymphoma, and leukemia, while also building PDX models for various solid tumors including breast cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer. For customized R&D needs targeting specific targets and mechanisms, the company can also precisely develop primary mouse models through retrovirus-mediated and bone marrow transplantation techniques, providing full-chain support for innovative drugs from molecular design to in vivo validation.
This round attracted participation from multiple professional investment institutions, fully reflecting market recognition of Zenitar's R&D achievements and future potential. Zenitar will continue to adhere to its innovation-driven strategy, accelerate its globalization pace, further unleash its platform advantages in cutting-edge fields such as structural biology and AI drug design, continuously enhance product adaptability and competitiveness in international markets, and work with global partners to create a new pattern of multi-party win-win outcomes.
Professor Chen Lijuan, founder of Zenitar, stated: "In an environment where global pharmaceutical industry capital markets are cooling and biopharma industry financing is slowing, Zenitar's ability to rapidly complete its B+ round fully demonstrates investors' strong recognition of our development strategy and R&D achievements. As two of our core products enter pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials, the company is firmly advancing toward international development. 2025 will mark the inaugural year of Zenitar's globalization — we will accelerate our overseas market layout and advance toward the center stage of global innovative drugs."
Dr. Kan Chen, Partner at Qiming Venture Partners and Co-Head of Healthcare, stated: "Leveraging its full-chain innovative drug platform, Zenitar has successfully driven efficient clinical translation of multiple new drugs, demonstrating exciting clinical efficacy across multiple therapeutic areas. We believe that with the simultaneous launch of overseas clinical trials, Zenitar will emerge on the global innovative drug stage, demonstrating strong innovative vitality and development potential."
This round was led by Qiming Venture Partners, with follow-on investment from Gaorong Ventures, LYFE Capital, Qiji Investment, 5Y Capital, and Zhongyuan Investment, along with continued investment from Sichuan Biomedical Industry Group.
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Founded in 2006, Qiming Venture Partners currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $9.5 billion. Since its inception, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding early and growth-stage companies in Technology and Healthcare sectors.
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, with over 80 recognized as unicorn or super-unicorn companies in their respective industries.
Many companies in Qiming's portfolio have grown into the most influential players in their 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.