OrbiMed, a longtime biotech funder, created a startup with two bispecific antibodies licensed from a drugmaker in China and put a former Biohaven executive at the helm.
Belenos Biosciences, a New York-based company formed this year, outlined an approximately $50 million equity round in an SEC filing this week. Chengdu-based Keymed Biosciences disclosed their licensing deal last week.
As part of the tie-up with Keymed, Belenos received the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize CM512 and CM536 outside of the Greater China region. Belenos paid Keymed $15 million upfront and could dish out an additional $170 million in biobucks, according to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange disclosure on July 9. A Keymed subsidiary called iBridge HK Holdings also gets a 30% equity stake in Belenos, which is 50% owned by OrbiMed-affiliated funds, according to the HKEX paperwork.
An OrbiMed spokesperson confirmed to Endpoints News that the firm founded Belenos and is the lead investor. They also confirmed that the $50 million financing was “related to the in-licensing of assets from Keymed.” The spokesperson declined to disclose more information about the two antibodies.
Keymed, which also has a partnership with AstraZeneca, has multiple clinical-stage assets across autoimmune diseases and oncology. Keymed didn’t respond to an inquiry from Endpoints.
Donnie McGrath, an OrbiMed venture partner, is the CEO of Belenos, which is named after an ancient Celtic healing god, the spokesperson confirmed. Keymed chair Bo Chen is also on the board of Belenos, according to a regulatory disclosure.
OrbiMed has had a presence in China since 2007 and has raised multiple Asia-focused funds over the years. Its fifth fund came in at just over $750 million last fall. At the time, managing partner Carter Neild said he expected the firm would invest in more biotech startups in China, saying the country has a “world-class innovation level” in categories like antibody-drug conjugates and cell therapy.
McGrath has helped OrbiMed in China before. After leading corporate strategy and business development at Biohaven for about five years, he became CEO of BioShin, the neuroscience biotech’s Shanghai-based spinout. OrbiMed would go on to lead a $60 million round for BioShin in the fall of 2020, at which point McGrath transitioned to executive chair.
OrbiMed is one of the most active investors in biopharma, according to HSBC’s recap of the first half that published Wednesday. Its recent portfolio launches include BlossomHill and Exsilio, and some of its companies have been acquired in recent months, including radiopharmaceuticals company Fusion Pharmaceuticals and antibody-drug conjugate maker ProfoundBio.