Brain Case completed tens of millions of yuan in angel round financing time:.
Time：2023-11-06 15:05:19
Its viral vector tools can serve the fields of brain science, cell gene therapy, and oncolytic viruses.
On August 20, 2022, Brain Case (Shenzhen) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Blinkers") announced the completion of tens of millions of yuan in angel round financing. This round of financing was led by Zhongke Angel Fund, followed by Blue Horse Capital, and professional incubation support was provided by Shenzhen Guangming Brain Science and Technology Industry Innovation Center (hereinafter referred to as the "Brain Innovation Center"). This round of financing is mainly used to accelerate the research and development of viral vector tools and carry out gene therapy CRO/CDMO business.
It is understood that researcher Xu Fuqiang of Shenzhen Academy of Advanced Technology and his team have been committed to the development and application of new technologies and methods in neural circuit research for more than ten years. In 2020, they founded Brain Case to develop and establish a It is the most complete tool library in the world for visual research on neural circuit structure and function, using more than ten types of neurotropic viruses as carriers, sensitive and flexible, cell-specific, with controllable circuit range and connection direction. Brain Case currently has more than 1,800 viral vectors, which are used in fields including neural network labeling, neural operation monitoring, gene regulation and other fields. Many of them are at the world's leading level. The service platform it has established serves thousands of laboratories at home and abroad. Provide support and provide indispensable tools for the development of the field of brain science. At the same time, Blinkers has the OneBac baculovirus packaging system that breaks technical barriers, greatly improving the production capacity of recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors (rAAV) and reducing costs. The team focuses on the in-depth transformation of the source of viral vectors, and its series of common features The technology serves the fields of brain science, cell gene therapy and oncolytic viruses.
Researcher Xu Fuqiang, founder and chief scientist of Brain Case, said that the country has listed gene therapy as a key industry development direction, and Blinkers’ patented technology can achieve targeted delivery of gene therapy drugs. On the one hand, the team must continue Improve tool viruses, because existing tool viruses still have key problems, including greater virus virulence, controllable replication/propagation direction/cross-synaptic progression, selectivity/specificity of cell types, and the control of foreign genes. Diversity and the efficiency of infection transmission need to be further developed and improved; on the other hand, special and in-depth research is needed on diseases such as new coronavirus pneumonia, melanoma, glioma, and diabetes. In the next five years, Shenzhen’s good industries will be used Chemical environment, it will be possible to achieve breakthroughs in certain gene therapies.
Xu Mingliang, founding partner of Zhongke Angel, said: "Researcher Xu Fuqiang, the founder and chief scientist of Blinkers, received important support from the National Ministry of Science and Technology's 'Brain Science and Brain-inspired Research' directed commissioning project last year, and Blinkers had previously It has already launched business layout in countries and regions with highly developed genetic technology, such as the United States and Europe, and has been highly recognized by international peers. Its technology is in a leading position in the world. We are very optimistic about the Brain Case team's research and development of viral vectors and gene therapy. Application prospects. In February 2022, the "Critical and Emerging Technologies List" released by the United States listed 'Engineering Design of Viruses and Viral Delivery Systems' as one of the key areas of the six major directions of biotechnology. The Brain Case team achieved this The key technologies are completely domestically produced and have world-class technical standards. We will fully support Brain Case to become a world-class genetic engineering company."
Meng Wengrong, a partner of Blue Horse Capital, said: "Blinkes is the first innovative project in the field of brain science invested by Blue Horse Capital, and we hope to make early arrangements on this track. The Brain Case team has expertise in viral vector technology. After more than ten years of accumulation and accumulation, it has the ability to continuously iterate, and some technologies even lead the world. In addition to being optimistic about the team and technology, we also recognize Brinkes’ business model. On the one hand, they provide viral vector tools for basic research. On the other hand, the business model for developing gene therapy CRO/CDMO business is very clear.”
After this round of financing, Brain Case will settle in the brain innovation center and rely on the brain innovation center to build a GMP production workshop of over 2,000 square meters to expand rAAV production capacity and serve industrial customers. Researcher Wang Liping, director of the Institute of Brain Cognition and Brain Diseases of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Studies, Chinese Academy of Sciences, commented: "Brinkers' entry into the Brain Innovation Center can provide key commonalities and underlying needs for the field of cell genes and brain science in Shenzhen's eight future industries. Viral vectors and derivative services. Brinkes is guided by the strategic layout of the future cell gene industry of the country and Shenzhen City, focusing on the underlying common and individual needs, based on the National Food and Drug Administration, the Guangdong Provincial Food and Drug Administration and the three Shenzhen The Key Laboratory of Viral Vectors will establish a series of products and standards to serve and ensure the development of the field of cell genes, which will enhance the core attraction of the Bright Brain Innovation Center as a highland for innovation and entrepreneurship, empowering industrial development, and playing a key role in future industries."
Brain Innovation Center GMP
On July 9, 2022, the Shenzhen Brain Science Society was officially established, and Brain Case also became the first member unit of the society, aiming to provide more comprehensive services for brain science researchers.
About Brain Case
Brain Case was founded in 2020 by the brain science research team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Over the past ten years, it has taken uncovering the "black box of the brain" as its mission, focusing on the development of tool virus vectors and application strategy research, especially on the development of tool virus vectors and application strategies. Research on neurotropic virus vectors (RV, PRV, HSV, VSV, CAV, etc.), recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors and preparation systems for disease gene therapy, oncolytic viruses for tumor immunotherapy, etc. is in a leading position in the industry, with high efficiency, With safe and reliable technology and more than 20 independent intellectual property rights, a full-process GMP production and experimental platform has been established. After years of accumulation, Brain Case now has an R&D and technical team of 40+ people. The company will transform from basic research on neural circuits to pre-clinical research. While serving basic research in life sciences, it will also carry out research for clinical and pharmaceutical companies. Experimental outsourcing services.
About Zhongke Angel
The China Science and Technology Angel Fund was jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Fund of Funds and the family capital of the famous angel investor Mr. Gong Hongjia. China Science Angel Fund adheres to the development philosophy of "pursuing endless technological frontiers, seeking business opportunities for large-scale industrialization, and assisting the growth of great enterprises". Relying on the Chinese Academy of Sciences and being based in Shenzhen, it promotes the large-scale industrialization of world-class scientific and technological achievements. The main investment areas of Zhongke Angel Fund focus on national strategic emerging industries, mainly focusing on biomedicine, new generation information technology, new energy and new materials. Zhongke Angel Fund has currently invested in projects including: Yangming Quantum, Zhongke Carbon, Zhongke Ling Carbon, Huili Pharmaceutical, Jisi Mingzhi, etc.
About Blue Horse Capital
Shenzhen Blue Horse Capital Management Co., Ltd. was established in June 2015. The company currently manages five fund products: Blue Horse Sitong, Xinyu Lianrun Phase II, Blue Horse Rongyue, Blue Horse Dengshi, and Blue Horse Feng, with a total scale of 209 million yuan. Most of Blue Horse Capital's partner team came from Shenzhen Venture Capital and have rich management experience and investment cases in project investment, finance, and legal affairs. Blue Horse Capital's funds focus on TMT, intelligent manufacturing, and new energy industries, investing in early- and mid-term projects with good growth prospects and core technologies. Representative projects invested by funds under Blue Horse Capital include Prato Technology, Intel Simulation, Borntan, Huiniu Technology, Shengjie Energy, Shanyuan Graphene, Magic Information, Zhongke Lifeng, and Chuchuang Biotechnology, etc. It has core technologies and competitive strength in various fields, and the company has good development momentum and has obtained multiple rounds of financing.
About Brain Innovation Center
With the strong support of the Shenzhen Municipal Government and the Guangming District Government, the Brain Innovation Center has received government and social investment of more than 100 million yuan, and has more than 60,000 square meters of professional innovation industry space. The Brain Innovation Center adheres to the concept of integrated development of "innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital" The concept focuses on the key pain points in the transformation and development of technology industries, empowers capital and enterprises in both directions, and strives to create a "bring-in" national-level brain and health industry professional incubator. The first batch of brain innovation centers has attracted more than 20 companies, with a total financing of approximately 200 million yuan and a valuation of over 4 billion yuan. There are about 20 companies planned to settle in the second batch, with total financing exceeding 1 billion yuan and valuation exceeding 10 billion yuan.
