Founded in 2016, Sinogen has established a technology platform to study the mechanisms of an oncolytic virus targeting tumor cells and completed the preclinical study of SGN1, genetic engineering product that can accurately and rapidly dissolve tumors.
Sinogen Pharmaceutical (Chinese: 华津医药), a biotechnology company committed to the R&D of innovative cancer drugs, completed a Pre-Series B round of financing worth tens of millions of US. This round was led by Winzac Capital (Chinese: 稳正资产 ), followed by Classmate Village Venture Capital (Chinese: 同学村创投), Cher Ami Investment(Chinese: 谢诺投资) and Sinowisdom Fund (Chinese: 华睿基金).
This round of financing will be mainly used to accelerate the clinical trials of SGN1 in multiple advanced solid tumors and promote the development of new products.
SGN1 is the tumor-targeting drug based on amino acid metabolism. Attenuated Salmonella have been used as methionine hydrolase carriers to deprive essential amino acids required for tumor growth. At present, 18 international PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patent application for SGN1 has legal effect. And it has gained two IND approvals from FDA for phase I-IIa clinical trials for multiple malignant solid tumors.
Using oncolytic viruses to treat cancer represents a class of immunotherapy. Oncolytic viruses can infect both normal cells and tumor cells. It will not replicate in normal cells but selectively target and kill tumor cells. Viruses released by tumor cell lysis will infect other tumor cells. At the same time, the cleaved tumor fragments will induct the immune response of the body and speed up the removal of tumors.
Oncolytic viruses are from diverse families of viruses, adenoviruses, vaccinia, and herpes viruses are the most intensively studied ones. At present, only one oncolytic virus drug, Oncorine®, has been successfully approved by NMPA (National Medical Products Administration), and most other companies' products are still going through clinical trials.