IDG, CICC back MagicRNA's Series B for in vivo CAR-T therapy
What's the deal? Shenzhen Hongxin Biotechnology (MagicRNADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →) has closed a Series B round worth hundreds of millions of yuan, led by funds under CICC CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → with Bayland CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → as co-lead. Follow-on investors included Guokai VC, BOC Financial Asset Investment Co., SND Ventures GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Guoshun Investment.
Who else backed it? Existing shareholders MPCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, IDG Capital, Nanling CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Huatai Genscript Fund, Sino Biopharmaceutical LimitedDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Goldport CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also joined. The heavyweight roster spans state-backed capital, established VC firms, and strategic pharma players.
What does the company do? Founded in December 2021, MagicRNA develops immunotherapies using in vivo LNP-mRNA cell-targeted delivery technology. The company says it has overcome a longstanding industry bottleneck: extrahepatic, non-APC targeted delivery of mRNA.
What's the endgame? Its lead candidate, HN2301, is an in vivo CAR-T therapy. In the first quarter of 2025, it dosed the first patient with systemic lupus erythematosus — described as the world's first first-in-human clinical trial of cell-targeted LNPs.
Early data: Dozens of patients with various autoimmune diseases have enrolled in the HN2301 trial. Across all dose cohorts, no hepatotoxicity or grade greater than 2 cytokine release syndrome has been observed.
The signal: The lineup — from CICC Capital and IDG to Sino Biopharmaceutical — points to growing investor conviction in in vivo CAR-T as a next step for cell therapy. If delivery beyond the liver holds up in the clinic, it could reshape how autoimmune diseases are treated.
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