Chinese biotech Excalipoint Therapeutics is looking to progress its pipeline of T-cell engager (TCE) therapies in immunology and oncology as it emerges with $68.7m in seed funding under its wing.
Excalipoint, which operates under a NewCo model, obtained the financing through an oversubscribed seed round, in which it secured $41m in funding from co-leading Chinese investors like Apricot Capital, HSG and Yuanbio Venture Capital, as well as contributions from four other companies.
After becoming fully operational and progressing elements of its pipeline, Excalipoint raised a further $27.7m in an extension round supported by prominent investors Lilly Asia Ventures and Eisai Innovation.
With this cash in hand, Excalipoint will progress its pipeline of TCE therapies, which includes six programmes spanning several solid tumour indications and immunological diseases. According to the company, its pipeline looks to address the common challenges associated with TCE therapies by turning ‘cold’ tumours ‘hot’, while addressing the tumour microenvironment.
The jewel in the company’s crown is its clinical-stage, DLL3/CD3/4-1BB-targeting trispecific antibody, EXP011, which Excalipoint is currently evaluating in a Phase I/II trial in DLL-expressing malignancies. The trial, which is exploring EXP011’s potential in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and neuroendocrine tumours, dosed its first patient in October 2025.
The emerging biotech was co-founded by CEO Lei Fang and CFO & CBO, Jielun Zhu. Both have previously served in leadership positions within I-Mab Biopharma, with Fang assuming the position of executive R&D director at I-Mab for five years between 2015 and 2020. Meanwhile, Zhu was previously the head of healthcare in Asia for the investment bank, Jefferies.
According to Zhu, the company will focus on cross-border partnerships and out-licensing to foster its continued growth.
In recent years, there has been a notable uptick in deals between China and the West, with large pharma in-licensing 28% of its innovator drugs from Chinese biopharma companies in 2024. This comes as China accounts for one fifth of all the drugs in development globally, as per a GlobalData report.
These products have become particularly interesting for pharma as many companies are approaching a patent cliff. According to GlobalData, parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, the proportion of global drug sales protected by patents in 2030 will drop to just 4%, compared to 12% in 2022 and 6% in 2024.
When signing deals with the West, Chinese companies are increasingly opting to use the NewCo strategy, which sees them offload development costs while bringing in capital from global sales of licensed products.
