Gobi Partners leads Series B for HIV vaccine developer Yicura BioMed
What's the deal? Yicura BioMed, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company based in the Hong Kong Science Park, has closed the first tranche of its Series B financing led by Gobi PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Strategic investors from Wuxi and institutional investors from Hong Kong also joined. The company — formerly known as Immuno Cure — did not disclose the round's size.
What's the endgame? Proceeds will advance Yicura's core product, ICVAX, an HIV therapeutic vaccine, and accelerate its cancer immunotherapy pipeline across vaccine and antibody programmes. Both rest on the company's PD-1-enhanced DNA vaccine and anti-Δ42PD1 antibody platforms.
Why now? ICVAX has completed a randomised, placebo-controlled Phase I trial in people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, reporting favourable safety and immunogenicity. The programme is moving to Phase II to test efficacy — and, the company says, a path towards functional cure.
What could go wrong? Published Phase I results, from a 45-person trial, showed tolerability and increased HIV-specific T-cell responses, but efficacy remains unproven. Early investigator-led data reported some participants maintaining viral control off therapy — a signal, not evidence of a cure. The round's significance hinges on whether it funds rigorous Phase II testing and reproducible results.
"This funding round marks an important step in Yicura's growth as we move ICVAX from early clinical validation towards efficacy studies," said co-founder and chief executive officer Xia Jin.
Fred Li, managing director and head of university ventures at Gobi Partners, said the firm was "pleased to lead this Series B financing" to help advance "the promising HIV therapeutic vaccine." Founded in 2002, Gobi manages US$2 billion across more than 30 investment vehicles and backs over 400 companies.
The signal: A pan-Asian investor backing a Hong Kong biotech underscores the region's push to turn academic research into commercial therapies. For Yicura, the capital buys a shot at proving its platforms work — but the hard clinical evidence still lies ahead.
Read more: portal.sina.com.hk
Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy
