SINGAPORE, July 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Hummingbird Bioscience, a Singapore founded biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibody-based therapeutics, today announced the successful completion of an extended Series A financing round. The round was led by Heritas Capital Management and SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore. Hummingbird's existing investors, including Decheng Capital which led the Series A financing round, have also participated in this round.
The fund raise builds upon Hummingbird's recent momentum in receiving a USD 13.1 million product development grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support Phase IA/B clinical trials of its anti-VISTA antibody for the treatment of solid tumors and lymphomas that are unresponsive to existing therapies. Proceeds will be used to advance its anti-VISTA and anti-HER3 programs to first-in-human clinical trials, expansion of its laboratory facilities, as well as to support the continued development of the other assets in the pipeline.
As part of this financing, the company also announced the addition of Mr. Chik Wai Chiew, CEO and Executive Director of Heritas Capital Management to its Board of Directors. "Hummingbird Bioscience has a highly innovative platform with the potential to develop effective therapeutic antibodies against hard-to-target protein regions," said Mr Chik. "We are delighted to lead this financing and support Hummingbird's proprietary platform for rational drug discovery and promote effective development of new therapies to better help patients."
"Hummingbird's computational biology-driven drug discovery platform, which has since yielded two high-potential pre-clinical stage drug compounds, represents early inroads of Singapore's investments into biopharmaceutical R&D. With this investment, we are pleased to continue supporting Hummingbird as they work with partners towards commencing clinical trials for their lead assets," said Mr. Geoffrey Yeo, General Manager of SEEDS Capital.
Joining the Hummingbird Board of Directors as well is Mr. Victor Tong, Partner at Decheng Capital. "We are pleased to have Heritas and SEEDS onboard as investors, demonstrating the strong support from the Singapore biotech ecosystem," said Mr. Tong. "With Hummingbird's first lead program having secured funding support for entering clinical phase in USA, we will next further broaden and deepen its global investor base to further drive international market partnerships and development."
"Hummingbird's lead programs represent potentially important advances for patients, and the company's underlying platform technology will unlock new avenues for drug development," said Dr Piers Ingram, CEO of Hummingbird Bioscience. "We greatly appreciate the support of Heritas, SEEDS and Decheng as we continue to build the company and advance our programs in the clinic."
About Hummingbird Bioscience
Hummingbird Bioscience is an innovative therapeutics development company with a proprietary rational antibody discovery platform and deep experience in applying integrative genomics and proteomics. Hummingbird develops precision therapeutic antibodies to clinical proof-of-concept for patients with the highest unmet needs. The company has a pipeline of first or best-in-class drug candidates. Within its pipeline, HMBD-001 (anti-HER3 antibody) and HMBD-002 (anti-VISTA antibody) are anticipated to start clinical trials in 2020. The company has locations in Houston, TX, South San Francisco, CA and Singapore. For more information on Hummingbird Bioscience visit: http://www.hummingbirdbioscience.com
About Heritas Capital Management
Heritas Capital Management is a private equity and venture capital fund manager based in Singapore. We seek to create long-term economic value and positive societal impact within the Asia-Pacific region by applying smart capital to areas of strong unmet needs within the healthcare, education and technology sectors. We are active investors within the healthcare space with investments across the whole healthcare value chain, ranging from early-stage start-ups developing novel therapeutics or foods to growth-stage companies. The investment in Hummingbird Biosciences has been made through a Heritas-managed venture capital fund, Heritas Venture Fund. For more information on Heritas Capital Management visit: https://www.heritascapital.com/
About SEEDS Capital
As the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, SEEDS Capital catalyses smart investments into innovative Singapore-based startups with strong intellectual content and global market potential. We co-invest with independent investors in innovative startups. We help our startups commercialize and expand globally through leveraging on the expertise and strategic networks of our co-investment partners in areas such as technology translation, commercialization and market expansion. Through co-investments, SEEDS Capital aims to catalyze investments into nascent and strategic sectors. These include Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Health & Biomedical Sciences, Urban Sustainability & Solutions, and Services & Digital Economy.
About Decheng Capital
Decheng Capital is a leading investment firm that provides capital and strategic support to early stage life science companies with revolutionary technologies and growth stage healthcare companies with strong market presence. Located in Shanghai and Silicon Valley, we are a team of dedicated professionals with complementary experience and outstanding track record of building highly successful companies globally. https://www.decheng.com
