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Neukio Biotherapeutics on a New Mission

Corporate Overview

Neukio Biotherapeutics

Established in June 2021 at the Life Science Park of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Neukio focuses on development of next generation allogenic cell therapies via the iPSC-CAR-NK axis, through internal discovery and external collaboration, with emphasis on innovative immuno-oncology products.

The management team has rich cell therapy experience, CEO and other key managers have led the Fosun Kite JV from the start and successfully launched the first CAR-T product Yescarta® commercialization in China (tech transfer, manufacturing, clinical trials and regulatory approval) in less than three years.

Supported by renowned VC investors including Lilly Asia Ventures, IDG Capital and Sherpa Capital, with a $40M angel round funding in August 2021. Since September 2022 to now,Neukio has closed $58 million in a Series A funding round that was led by CD Capital, with the participation of Alwin Capital, Surplus Capital, Alihealth and Panlin Capital as new investors. Existing shareholders Lilly Asia Ventures, Sherpa Healthcare Partners and IDG Capital have continued to support the company with additional funding. G&G Capital served as the exclusive financial adviser. 

Building upon successful experience in commercialization of autologous CAR-T cell therapy products and the last cutting-edge technologies, Neukio’s core team has designed a novel allogeneic immune cell therapy technology and process platform and to address the limitations of autologous cell therapy. The innovation mainly focuses on two aspects: 1) Leveraging the advantages of gene editing technologies to modify unique signaling pathways and/or to engineer transgenes, we can create novel functions and reconstitute immune-response of iPSC-NK to overcome the challenges in treating solid tumors beyond cancer target selection. In addition, knocking-in and expressing target-specific CAR molecules will enhance target dependent cytotoxicity, and NK activation, leading to better clinical efficacy in specific indications. 2) Developing GMP-compliant bioreactor-based 3D suspension process for iPSC differentiation to NK cell and further expansion under perfusion conditions will ensure manufacturing highly pure and homogenic CAR-NK products in scale. Demonstration of clinical safety and efficacy of the engineered products will fulfill the unmet medical needs in solid tumor treatment, and bring hope of cure to patients world-wide.



Our Competitive Advantages


l  Strong cell therapy expertise (CAR-T, CMC, regulatory)

l  Unequivocal innovative pipeline strategy with global reach

l  Parallel approach of internal R&D & external collaborations

l  Highly effective team with strong execution record

l  Supported by renowned investors with shared vision



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Development History

  • 2023

    January: Established GMP compliant 3-tier banking (PCB/MCB/WCB) for the first product

    February: Established GMP compliant 3-tier banking for the second product

    March: Achieved validation of the second gene-editing

  • 2022

    January: Collaboration with Biocytogen to screen antibody for nominated targets for construct next generation of CAR cellular immunotherapy products

    February: Collaboration with EdiGene Inc. to explore novel therapeutic mechanisms and potential targets to be edited

    July: Achieved the first gene editing and functional validation

    July: Completed small scale manufacturing process

    September-December: Completed $55M Series A financing

    November: Collaboration with ExCell to develop customized serum-free medium for NK cells and other iPSC derived products

  • 2021

    June: Founded in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone

    July: Completed $40M angel round financing

    September: Discovery laboratory center construction completed

    December: GMP manufacturing facility construction completed

  • 2023

  • 2022

  • 2021

Corporate vision

Let Cell Therapies Eradicate Cancer Cells

Corporate mission

Focus on Innovative Technology and Therapy Development

Uphold High Quality Standards and Industry Leadership

Corporate value

Honesty and Integrity

Responsibility and Accountability

Respect and Collaboration

Result and Excellence

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About Founder

Richard Liqun Wang Ph. D., MBA.

Founder, Chairman and CEO, Neukio Biotherapeutics


Former positions held:

VP & CTO, Fosun Pharma, and founding CEO, Fosun Kite Biotech

COO, Cellular Biomedical Group (CBMG)

Head of Operations, GSK R&D Center in China

Director of Alliance, Externalization and Portfolio Management, AstraZeneca Innovation Center China

Associate Director, Discovery Portfolio and Project Management, Bristol-Myers Squibb USA

Group Leader & Principal Scientist, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, USA


Richard received B.S degree in Cell Biology from the University of Science & Technology of China, Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati. He obtained postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health, USA. In the last 8 years, he has been working on cell therapy research and product development. While in Fosun Kite, he led the effort of completing tech transfer, registration trial and market authorization application for Yescarta in China (the first CAR-T product) in less than three years, and building commercial strategy and teams for the launch


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