Renal-Focused Alebund Pharma Raises $60 Million in Series B Financing Round
Shanghai-based Alebund Pharmaceuticals has raised $60 million in a new Series B financing round, which was announced Sunday. The financing round was led by Quan Capital with help from a sovereign wealth fund, 3E Bioventures Capital and Sherpa Healthcare Partners.
Other participants in the financing round included existing shareholders, Lilly Asia Ventures and Med-Fine Capital. In a statement made on the new financing, the company said the proceeds will go toward research and development of preclinical products, clinical programs, manufacturing site construction and staff expansion.
Alebund's new $60 million series B financing will specifically be harnessed to further drive the company’s focus on renal disease, a health condition with a fairly high prevalence in China. The raised funding represents a record for financing raised during a single round by any other Chinese nephrology-related biopharmaceutical company.
Currently, Alebund has drug candidates in its pipeline targeting renal chronic kidney disease (CKD)/dialysis complications, IgA nephropathy, diabetic kidney disease, and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.
The company has a clinically advanced product that features the best-in-class potential for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia. A current Phase II trial and another expected Phase III registrational study next year are evaluating the efficacy and safety of this drug.
Alebund’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Gavin Xia, said in a statement that the new capital would further support the company’s “innovation in nephrology to bring more effective therapies to renal patients both in China and around the world,” while making the company “a leader and prominent player in the development of novel therapies for renal diseases."
According to Dr. Marietta Wu, Managing Director of lead financing company Quan Capital, Alebund was an attractive investment given its “outstanding track record and deep expertise in the field of nephrology.” Furthermore, Quan Capital shares the same therapeutic area of nephrology with Alebund, making the investment a perfect fit.
Alebund shows enough promise to investors as an emerging leader in the field of nephrology, but that doesn’t mean the company won’t face stiff competition. On Monday, Bayer announced its investigational, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone beat placebo in reducing the risk of a composite of cardiovascular (CV) death and non-fatal CV events in patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes, according to findings from a Phase III study.
The study, titled FIGARO-DKD, is Bayer’s second positive late-stage trial within the finerenone program focused on CKD and type 2 diabetes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing the new drug application for finerenone under Priority Review, based on the positive findings from the Phase III FIDELIO-DKD study.