【Exclusive】CytoNiche Nabs Millions of Dollars in A New Round of Financing with Tsinghua University’s Participation in the Joint Constructio

According to VCBeat, recently,  CytoNiche Biotechnology (CytoNiche) announced that it had got millions of dollars in new funding led by CASH Capital, and jointly invested by C&I Capital, Tsinghua Capital, and Tsinghua Holdings Capital. Tsinghua University holds stokes in the company with joint construction. 

CytoNiche focuses on the research and development of 3D micro-tissue engineering technology. The core technology comes from the project conducted by Tsinghua University. Based on its original research technology, CytoNiche has launched a series of products and services, including customized, large-scale, automatic and intelligent stem cell culture and amplification process, 3D stem cell microtissue regeneration therapies and 3D cell high-throughput drug screening products.

Liu Wei, co-founder and CEO of CytoNiche，said that this round of financing was completed in early 2019, and the funds are used for GMP plant construction to scale the pipeline and the registration and application of products in the later stage.

The three-dimensional culture system of CytoNiche's stem cells can solve many problems such as low efficiency of traditional two-dimensional amplification culture of stem cells, difficulties in continuous cultivation, inability to efficiently expand, unstable quality of stem cell products and so on.

Currently, CytoNiche's 3D stem cell microtissue therapy has completed preclinical validation of the efficacy and safety of diabetic models for foot and limb ischemia, bone and cartilage defects, disc degeneration, liver fibrosis, and skin injury. Now it’s seeking downstream stem cell enterprises and clinical partners to jointly promote the validation of clinical trials.

CytoNiche will conduct a new round of financing in the near future, which will be used to build professional teams, upgrade technical products, develop new cell agents and clinical research of new stem cell microtissue drugs.

Founded in 2011, CASH is a venture capital and private equity fund manager focused on early-stage and growth-stage investments in the TMT and Healthcare sectors. CASH Capital has invested in about a hundred companies in seven major areas including Advanced Manufacturing & IoT, Internet & Mobil Services, AI, Big Data & Cloud Computing, Fintech, Information Security, Medical Services, and Medical Devices & Medicine.

C&I Capital is a venture capital investing in innovation and technologies of China. Its business covers the seed, angels and venture investment and equity investment fund management and enterprise incubation, consulting and advisory services. C&I Capital holds both M&A funds and industrial investment funds. 

Tsinghua Holdings Capital (THC) is a Beijing-based private equity investment fund with a focus on high-end technology, industrials, and healthcare. The fund has grown steadily since its inception in 2007 when it was operating as Tsinghua Holdings Group's specialized PE investment arm, focusing on discovering and investing in China's leading enterprises in high growth business sectors such as industrials, TMT and entertainment.