Regend Therapeutics Inc. ("Regend") recently announced that it has completed a Series B financing of over 100 million yuan. This round was led by Shenzhen Capital Group, one of the largest domestic investment institutions, with participation from West Fountain Global Fund, L.P., Soochow Securities, China Merchants Securities, and Elight Future. The proceeds will primarily be used to advance the clinical trials of its first-in-class cell drug REGEND001 for two respiratory diseases, complete the IND application for kidney regeneration medical products, accelerate the research and development of subsequent "gene-enhanced cell" product pipelines, and complete the construction of the commercial production site in Nanchang.

Established in 2015, Regend's operational entities include the Shanghai Super Organ Research and Development Center, the Suzhou Regend Pilot Base, and the Xianhe Medical commercial production base in Nanchang. The overall construction scale of the cell drug production GMP workshop is nearly 10,000 square meters. As a global leader focusing on progenitor cell organ regeneration, Regend is targeting a highly differentiated niche market with extremely high technical barriers. Based on its unique R-Clone technology platform, the team has made breakthrough progress in the field of progenitor cells.

Their self-developed world's only lung regeneration medical product, REGEND001 (a lung progenitor cell preparation), has obtained clinical trial approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Currently, in collaboration with several top domestic hospitals, such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University First Affiliated Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Ruijin Hospital, among others. Regend is currently carrying out registration clinical phase II trials. Previous clinical research involving nearly a hundred cases shows that autologous transplantation of human lung progenitor cells can successfully repair lung tissue damage in patients with COPD and other lung diseases, improving lung function and quality of life. REGEND001 has shown promising results during its clinical studies for its safety and effectiveness.

In addition to lungs, Regend is also actively arranging for the repair of other organ damage. Among them, REGEND003 is a progenitor cell product for severe kidney damage, with the potential to regenerate and repair renal tubules and glomeruli. The first indication, diabetic nephropathy, will complete the IND application within the year. Related academic achievements were also published in the ProteinCell journal in collaboration with Academician Chen Xiangmei and Professor Cai Guangyan from the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army. It is worth noting that a similar kidney regeneration therapy developed by Prokidney, a company listed on NASDAQ in the United States, has entered phase 3 clinical trials with the US FDA. With the technical advantages of the platform, REGEND003 is expected to quickly follow up, and potentially surpass competitors in some technical aspects.

The co-founder of Regend and Professor Zuo Wei of the School of Medicine at Tongji University stated: "Lung progenitor cells are located in the basal layer of the bronchi in adults and have the potential to regenerate into alveolar epithelial cells, bronchial secretory epithelial cells, and ciliated cells. Using the unique R-Clone technology platform, we can stably expand cells and perform organ-like differentiation identification, making it easy to obtain a large number of high-quality drug-grade progenitor cells. After bronchoscopic lung transplantation, new respiratory units can be regenerated in the patient's body within a few months to restore the gas exchange function of the lungs. We have also successfully reproduced similar technologies in the kidney system. As such, regenerative medicine based on progenitor cells is the greatest hope for patients and their families, and also our mission as scientific workers."

Dr. Zhang Ting, the co founder and CEO of Regend, said: "We are very pleased to receive recognition and support from well-known professional funds. The Regend team has always possessed top-notch continuous research and development capabilities, and after years of growth and accumulation, Regend now has high-standard cell production capabilities and experience and strength to complete innovative clinical research. In the future, we will join hands with investors to continue providing breakthrough regenerative medicine treatment solutions for patients, promote the rapid listing of China's first progenitor cell product, and become an innovative enterprise based in China and serving the world."

Wu Ping, Project Leader and East China Investment Director at Shenzhen Capital Group, said: "We are honored to participate in Regend's Series B financing as the lead investor. Shenzhen Capital Group has been paying attention to the development of the cell therapy field more than a decade ago. Currently, most of the global cell therapy products are based on mesenchymal stem cells, but they cannot directly exert therapeutic effects through the tissue regeneration mechanism. Regend has deep research accumulation in the field of progenitor cell therapy, and it is one of the six undertakers of the first batch of stem cell clinical filing projects in the country. It has made breakthrough applications in treating major respiratory system diseases with autologous progenitor cell preparations, achieving true organ regeneration. Its core technology can also be applied to multiple organ fields, and it has a very broad application prospect."