2021 Q1 Overview of Cell Therapy Financing
Cell therapy is one of the most attractive fields in recent years. It has shown a good prospect in the treatment of cancer, blood diseases, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, HIV infection and so on, especially in the field of tumor immunity.
Based on PharmaInvest database, there were nearly 40 financing events (including IPO financing) in the global cell therapy field in the first quarter of 2021, with a total financing amount of more than $3.7 billion.
In terms of cell therapy types, T-cell therapies had the highest number of funding events, accounting for 37%, followed by stem cell therapy (19%), NK cell therapy (14%), tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL, 9%). In addition, new technologies such as macrophages, myeloid cells, dendritic cells (DC), red blood cell therapy are emerging. Correspondingly, T-cell therapies have the highest total funding, about $2.3 billion. This is followed by stem cell therapies at approximately $1.2 billion.
Data source: PharmaInvest
2021 Q1 financing proportion of different types of cell therapies (left) and accumulated financing amount (right).
Note: the statistics of the cases involving multiple cell therapies in the same financing event are made respectively. Therefore, the total number of different types of cell therapies is higher than the total number of financing events, and the total financing amount is also greater than the total financing amount. Due to the unknown amount of some financing, the data are for reference only.
Regionally, there were nearly 30 financing events in the field of cell therapy in Q1, including seven successful IPOs, with Sana Biotechnology's IPO raising the most eye-catching at $670 million. SANA, a US start-up company founded in 2018, has reached $700million in the first round of financing in June 2020, which has set the highest single financing record in the field of cell therapy, and also the highest single financing amount of biotechnology start-up company in history.
2021 Q1 Overview of Cell Therapy Financing in Global excluding China
Data source: PharmaInvest
There were 10 cell therapy-related financing events in 2021 Q1 in China. In respective of technology, CAR-T and TIL therapies are the most popular. In terms of indications, cancer is still the dominant direction. In addition to mainstream T-cell therapies, some emerging technologies have also gained attention such as red cell therapeutics (RCT), a branch of cell therapy technology that uses red blood cells as the main drug carrier for the treatment of various diseases such as cancer, immune and metabolic diseases and infectious diseases. Westlake Therapeutics is the first company in China focusing on RCTs. On March 8, the company completed a round of pre-A + financing of nearly RMB100 million to accelerate the preclinical research and discovery of RCTs.
2021 Q1 Overview of Cell Therapy Financing in China
Data source: PharmaInvest
In conclusion, the field of cell therapy is still in full bloom with many companies completing financing and 8 IPOs in 2021 Q1, and pharmaceutical giants still increasing their investments. It is expected that there will be more innovative cell therapies moving from the lab to the clinic for the benefit of patients in the near future.
Based on PharmaInvest database, there were nearly 40 financing events (including IPO financing) in the global cell therapy field in the first quarter of 2021, with a total financing amount of more than $3.7 billion.
In terms of cell therapy types, T-cell therapies had the highest number of funding events, accounting for 37%, followed by stem cell therapy (19%), NK cell therapy (14%), tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL, 9%). In addition, new technologies such as macrophages, myeloid cells, dendritic cells (DC), red blood cell therapy are emerging. Correspondingly, T-cell therapies have the highest total funding, about $2.3 billion. This is followed by stem cell therapies at approximately $1.2 billion.
Data source: PharmaInvest2021 Q1 financing proportion of different types of cell therapies (left) and accumulated financing amount (right).
Note: the statistics of the cases involving multiple cell therapies in the same financing event are made respectively. Therefore, the total number of different types of cell therapies is higher than the total number of financing events, and the total financing amount is also greater than the total financing amount. Due to the unknown amount of some financing, the data are for reference only.
- Global excluding China: Seven cell therapy companies go public through IPOs, Sana's single funding round is the brightest
Regionally, there were nearly 30 financing events in the field of cell therapy in Q1, including seven successful IPOs, with Sana Biotechnology's IPO raising the most eye-catching at $670 million. SANA, a US start-up company founded in 2018, has reached $700million in the first round of financing in June 2020, which has set the highest single financing record in the field of cell therapy, and also the highest single financing amount of biotechnology start-up company in history.
2021 Q1 Overview of Cell Therapy Financing in Global excluding China
Data source: PharmaInvest
- China : CAR-T、TIL are the hottest while Emerging technologies gained attention
There were 10 cell therapy-related financing events in 2021 Q1 in China. In respective of technology, CAR-T and TIL therapies are the most popular. In terms of indications, cancer is still the dominant direction. In addition to mainstream T-cell therapies, some emerging technologies have also gained attention such as red cell therapeutics (RCT), a branch of cell therapy technology that uses red blood cells as the main drug carrier for the treatment of various diseases such as cancer, immune and metabolic diseases and infectious diseases. Westlake Therapeutics is the first company in China focusing on RCTs. On March 8, the company completed a round of pre-A + financing of nearly RMB100 million to accelerate the preclinical research and discovery of RCTs.
2021 Q1 Overview of Cell Therapy Financing in China
Data source: PharmaInvest
In conclusion, the field of cell therapy is still in full bloom with many companies completing financing and 8 IPOs in 2021 Q1, and pharmaceutical giants still increasing their investments. It is expected that there will be more innovative cell therapies moving from the lab to the clinic for the benefit of patients in the near future.