Suzhou, China – Mar 15, 2023 — Neowise Biotechnology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., a global leader focused on TCR-T cell therapies for solid tumors, completed a Series A+ financing round of close to RMB 200 million. The round attracted investments from well-known healthcare-focused funds, including Oriza Seed Capital, Marathon Venture Partners, GEM Co., Ltd., Orange Land Capital, Zhongxin Capital, Leader Venture Capital and others. Existing shareholder TF Capital also increased its stake. Haoyue Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Suzhou, Neowise Biotechnology is a globally leading company committed to discovering natural tumor antigen-specific TCRs and developing TCR-T cell therapies for solid tumors. The company was founded by Dr. Songming Peng, who previously co-founded PACT Pharma in the U.S. with Nobel laureates and other pioneers in the field. He has long been active at the forefront of T cell biology, immunology, and genomics. Neowise's core executive team consists of industry veterans from leading global pharmaceutical companies, with rich experience in computational biology, neoantigen target discovery, TCR validation, manufacturing process development (CMC), translational research, and clinical development.

Neowise has innovatively built an industry-leading TCR discovery platform by combining bioinformatics prediction with iterative experimental validation. This enables rapid and efficient identification and accumulation of neoantigen targets paired with natural high-affinity TCRs. TCR sequences discovered through this platform demonstrate significantly superior affinity, cytotoxic activity, and safety. The company has established a leading antigen-natural TCR library. The new funds will be used to further expand Neowise's product pipeline and accelerate clinical translation.

TCR-based cell therapies — after years of technological development — are now demonstrating unique advantages, especially in treating advanced solid tumors. TCR signaling provides the first activation signal in immune surveillance and enables recognition of a broader range of intracellular antigens than CARs. This makes TCR-mediated activation of tumor-specific T cells a critical step in immune responses against solid tumors. Current TCR-T therapies targeting antigens such as MAGE-A4 and NY-ESO-1 have already shown promising results in clinical trials. However, these therapies are limited in their applicable indications. A major bottleneck in the field remains: how to discover rare, high-affinity, and safe natural TCRs targeting neoantigens derived from oncogenic mutations that are more broadly relevant to diverse patient populations.

Neowise Biotechnology is at the forefront of neoantigen and natural TCR discovery. Its powerful discovery platform has accumulated thousands of neoantigen-natural TCR pairings, which not only overcome the final barriers to TCR-T development, but also expand cell therapy's reach to broader patient groups. Moreover, this high-quality pairing dataset has the potential to enable multiple therapeutic modalities, delivering significant benefit to cancer patients.

About Neowise Biotechnology:
Founded in 2020 by a team of scientists with strong academic and industry backgrounds, Neowise Biotechnology is an innovative company focused on developing TCR-T immunotherapies for solid tumors. Leveraging years of expertise and technical innovation, the company has built an ultra-sensitive antigen-TCR discovery and validation platform, solving a critical bottleneck in the field. It has established a globally leading library of tumor antigen-TCR pairs, dramatically expanding the therapeutic target landscape and treatment options for solid tumor patients. Based on this library, Neowise can efficiently screen TCRs suitable for treating a patient's tumor, then edit, expand, and infuse highly specific T cells that can recognize tumor antigens—achieving tumor cell killing and therapeutic benefit. The company aims to turn the challenge of developing TCR therapies for solid tumors from a “needle-in-a-haystack” endeavor into a systematic, guided process, striving to create more possibilities for every life.

About Oriza Seed Capital:
Oriza Seed Capital is an early-stage equity investment platform under Oriza Holdings, focusing on technology and healthcare startups. Managing over RMB 5 billion, it has invested in over 200 high-quality companies such as Ascentage Pharma, CStone Pharmaceuticals, JW Therapeutics, Biocytogen, and Cambricon.

About Marathon Venture Partners:
Marathon Venture Partners, founded in 2016, is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments in digital health technologies. It has managed multiple RMB and USD funds, investing in companies such as Deepwise (AI medical imaging), MediTrust (healthcare payment), Riton (3D dental printing), and Beten Medical (B2B medical device distribution).

About GEM Co., Ltd.:
GEM Co., Ltd. is a global leader in green manufacturing, known for its “limited resources, infinite recycling” philosophy. Listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, GEM has received numerous awards, including Forbes China's Most Innovative Companies and the Davos Global Circular Economy Award.

About Orange Land Capital:
Orange Land Capital, founded in 2014, focuses on healthcare, cybersecurity, and industrial automation. Its investments include Betta Pharmaceuticals, KylinSoft, and Finlay Technologies, and it is known for its value-driven, research-oriented approach.

About Zhongxin Capital:
Zhongxin Capital, established in 2015, is a professional private equity investment firm backed by Suzhou-based industrial and financial entities. It has invested in leading companies such as CanSino Biologics, Konruns, and Lepu Pharmaceuticals.

About Leader Venture Capital,:
Leader Venture Capital, founded in 2012, is Suzhou Industrial Park's largest policy-driven angel fund. Its Sci-Tech Innovation Fund has a total size of RMB 1.5 billion and focuses on biotech, nanotech, and AI.

About TF Capital:
TF Capital focuses on early- and growth-stage investments in life sciences. Beyond funding, it provides strategic and operational support to help companies rapidly grow.

About Haoyue Capital:
Haoyue Capital, established in 2014, is a leading healthcare-focused investment bank headquartered in Shanghai with regional offices in Beijing and Shenzhen. It has completed over 300 deals across innovative pharma, medical devices, IVD, and healthcare services, with total transaction value exceeding USD 10 billion.