D3 Bio, a Shanghai biotech, raised an impressive $200 million in a Series A financing from well-known China investors with the goal of developing best-in-class precision medicines. The company plans to examine clinical records to find medications with disappointing efficacy, develop more effective treatments and then bring them to global markets. The Series A funding included Boyu Capital, Matrix Partners China, Sequoia Capital China, Temasek, and WuXi AppTec’s Corporate Venture Fund, among others.

D3 Bio's business plan is sharply different from that of most biotechs, which generally start with laboratory insights. Instead, D3 will examine clinical areas to find standard-of-care drugs that have unsatisfactory outcomes.

Next, the company will identify new disease targets and delivery methods in immunology and oncology, matching patients with the best therapies to treat their diseases. D3 Bio believes its understanding of cancer biomarkers and therapeutic improvement during preclinical stage will make its drug R&D process more efficient.

The company expects to incorporate discovery and innovation through the entire process of drug development, not just at the beginning. Its name, D3, reflects the company's understanding that novel drugs are improved through a cyclic process: Development leading to Discovery that then leads back to more Development, the three D's.

D3 Bio was co-founded by George Chen, MD, MBA, who is Chairman and CEO of the company. Trained as an oncologist, he received a medical degree from the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr Chen has held senior positions at institutions and companies that include the US National Institutes of Health, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.

“Our mission at D3 Bio is to build a global biotechnology company that develops innovative and more efficacious medicines for patients worldwide," said Dr. Chen. “The financing and support of our approach by reputable institutional investors give us a great start as we begin our journey to transform drug development to accomplish our mission.”

“Our R&D programs in oncology and immunology are designed to address current unmet clinical needs and to provide the structure, or ‘backbone,' upon which future drugs can be developed," he continued. "D3 Bio intends to create a robust portfolio comprised of internal core assets that can be leveraged for follow-on development as well as in-licensed early-stage clinical assets. We expect our entire portfolio to enable discovery and development of additional indications and combination regimens."

Dr. Chen’s experience includes regulatory approvals and market launches of blockbuster drugs in both the US and China markets, including more than 70 Investigational New Drug (IND) filings and more than 30 New Drug Application (NDA) approvals.

D3 Bio will use the resources of China's pharmaceutical ecosystem, including academic research, hospitals and investigators, clinical research organizations, venture capital and broad development talent.

“Leveraging these resources, we expect to accelerate development and delivery of novel, life-transforming therapeutics to serve patients worldwide,” Dr. Chen explained. “Our strong and agile team of scientific innovators and business executives are experienced in discovery, development and commercialization of important, world-class pharmaceuticals that have achieved blockbuster status on a global basis. We anticipate D3 Bio’s development program in China will be closely followed by ones in other major global markets.”

Yanling Cao, Partner, Boyu Capital, added, “ We believe that a tremendous amount of medical innovation will be created by D3 Bio coupling China’s talent pool with the global R&D ecosystem. We share D3 Bio’s vision of developing innovative drugs by integrating deep clinical insights with creative science and technology.”

Disclosure: none.