Jianda Jiuzhou Closes Hundreds of Millions of RMB in Series A Funding, Cementing Global Leadership in Precision Therapies for Brain Science and Ophthalmology

On July 30, GenAns Tech (Beijing) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "GenAns Tech") announced the completion of a Series A financing round worth several hundred million RMB, led by Taiping Healthcare Fund with follow-on investment from existing shareholder Huatai紫金's fund, and participation from Gaorong Ventures and other new and existing investors.

Founded by Minmin Luo, a renowned neurobiologist, GenAns Tech is a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies for central nervous system and ophthalmic diseases. Its R&D pipeline covers retinitis pigmentosa, refractory epilepsy, refractory pain, major depressive disorder, neurodegenerative diseases, and malignant brain tumors. Through its deep investment in precision neuromodulation technology platforms, GenAns Tech has become one of the global leaders in precision therapeutics for brain science and ophthalmology.

The proceeds from this round will primarily fund clinical validation of multiple core pipeline programs, accelerate backup pipeline R&D and dual China-US filing processes, and further strengthen the company's platform capabilities in cutting-edge brain science technologies including chemogenetics and optogenetics — continuously generating globally innovative drugs that leverage precision neuromodulation to treat refractory brain diseases.

Pioneering Precision Therapies for Brain Diseases

Through Original Innovation and Rigorous Scientific Foundation

For a long time, central nervous system and ophthalmic diseases have been among the "deep water" and high-barrier tracks in global innovative drug development: disease mechanisms are complex, patient heterogeneity is high, and traditional drugs struggle to precisely intervene in abnormal neural circuits. In hereditary retinal dystrophies, refractory epilepsy, central neuropathic pain, and other conditions, large numbers of patients still face limited treatment options and heavy disease burdens — representing enormous unmet clinical needs.

Drawing on the founding team's long-standing expertise in basic brain science research and neuromodulation technology translation, GenAns Tech has become the only company globally to simultaneously pursue both chemogenetics and optogenetics — the two major neuromodulation technology routes — to enable precision therapies for brain diseases. The company delivers engineered light-sensitive proteins or chemical receptors to specific neural circuits via delivery vectors, achieving precise, reversible, controllable, and on-demand modulation of abnormal neural activity. This represents an evolution from traditional "gene replacement strategies" to "neural circuit modulation strategies," redefining intervention approaches for central nervous and ophthalmic diseases.

Around this direction, and driven by AI-enabled frontier capabilities, GenAns Tech has established five core R&D platforms covering molecular biology, delivery vectors, viral vectors, cellular activity, and electrophysiological and functional evaluation. Combined with the company's comprehensive in-house non-clinical evaluation systems (pharmacology, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, and translational medicine) and manufacturing process development capabilities, GenAns Tech has built full-chain closed-loop capabilities spanning early drug design, process development, non-clinical evaluation, and clinical translation.

The company's existing pipeline has deep coverage of major indications including retinal dystrophies, epilepsy, and central neuropathic pain, while backup pipelines are extending further into high-barrier fields with substantial unmet needs such as Parkinson's disease, major depressive disorder, drug addiction, and malignant brain tumors.

Accelerating Pipeline Execution

Through Real-World Research and Unmet Clinical Needs

GA001: Retinitis Pigmentosa — Core Optogenetics Pipeline

GA001 is the representative pipeline from GenAns Tech's optogenetics platform that has first entered clinical validation, targeting hereditary blinding eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP). There are approximately 1.5 million RP patients globally, most of whom have long lacked effective treatments and suffer from irreversible vision decline or complete blindness.

GA001 is based on a novel high-sensitivity light-sensitive protein independently discovered by the company, delivered directionally to retinal ganglion cells to achieve visual functional reconstruction. The product is genotype-independent, potentially covering a broad RP patient population. Subject data shows that GA001 demonstrates excellent safety and efficacy characteristics, with multiple subjects with extremely low vision recovering to the point of recognizing multiple lines on eye charts after treatment — outperforming publicly disclosed data from comparable international pipelines that have undergone peer review.

GA001 has received FDA Phase II clinical trial approval in the United States along with Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) and Fast Track Designation (FTD), as well as CDE Phase I clinical trial approval in China, and officially initiated registrational clinical trials this month.

GA002: Refractory Focal Epilepsy — Core Chemogenetics Pipeline

There are approximately 50 million epilepsy patients globally, of whom about 30% are drug-refractory; GA002 targets refractory focal epilepsy, which affects roughly 2 million patients in China, representing enormous clinical need. This product achieves precise, reversible inhibition of abnormal discharges by directionally expressing a self-engineered inhibitory receptor in the epileptic focus region and activating it on demand with a specific ligand, potentially offering a new treatment option for drug-refractory epilepsy patients who cannot be covered by surgical resection.

GA002 is the world's first precision therapy for refractory focal epilepsy to enter human validation, and officially initiated registrational clinical trials this month.

GA008: Refractory Central Neuropathic Pain — Extended Chemogenetics Pipeline

GA008 is known to be the world's first precision therapy for refractory central neuropathic pain to enter human validation. There are approximately 15–20 million patients with refractory central neuropathic pain globally, encompassing post-stroke pain, post-spinal cord injury pain, and other indications where existing therapies have limited efficacy. This pipeline diverges from the disease intervention pathways of traditional analgesic drugs, potentially offering an entirely new treatment option for refractory central neuropathic pain. Data shows that GA008 significantly alleviates intractable pain while simultaneously improving accompanying symptoms including anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders, and demonstrates safety characteristics of non-addictiveness and no impact on cognitive function.

Furthermore, as multiple early-stage research datasets continue to accumulate, the company is advancing optogenetics and chemogenetics technologies toward broader clinical scenarios including Parkinson's disease, major depressive disorder, drug addiction, and malignant brain tumors through a dual China-US filing pathway, accelerating the global clinical validation and translation of originally Chinese brain science technologies.

Minmin Luo, founding scientist of GenAns Tech, stated: "We are grateful for the trust and continued support of all our new and existing shareholders. Brain and nervous system diseases represent among the most complex challenges facing human health, and many patients have long lacked effective treatment options. GenAns Tech was founded on the scientific achievements and original discoveries we accumulated through basic brain science research. Through precision modulation of neural circuit activity, we hope to bring entirely new intervention approaches to refractory brain diseases. We will continue to insist on source innovation, deeply integrate basic research with clinical translation, and continuously transform originally Chinese brain science achievements into treatment options that are genuinely accessible to patients worldwide."