Laekna Therapeutics Raises $61 Million in Series D financing

Laekna Therapeutics, a clinical-stage global biotechnology company dedicated to developing next generation medicines to treat cancer and liver diseases, announced that it has raised $61 million in Series D financing led by CS Capital with support from Worldstar, and Infinity Capital. Yanchuang Capital as the existing investor continued to support the company with additional funding.

Laekna’s robust infrastructure has enabled the rapid development of 14 innovative drug candidates. The company has initiated six clinical programs, three of which are multi-regional clinical trials (including one pivotal trial) to address urgent, unmet medical needs in the standard of care-resistant cancers.

In the four rounds of financing to date, Laekna has been supported by leading healthcare-focused institutional investment firms. In addition to CS Capital, most recently, SCGC led the company’s $61 Series C financing in October 2020, after GP Healthcare Capital and OrbiMed Healthcare Fund Management led the Series B and Series A financing rounds, respectively.

Proceeds from the Series D financing will be used to accelerate the clinical development of Laekna’s two core product candidates, AKT kinase inhibitor afuresertib (LAE002) and the world’s first clinical-stage CYP17/CYP11B2 dual inhibitor (LAE001). Both product candidates cover three differentiated key mechanisms, namely targeted therapy, hormonal therapy, and immuno-oncology therapy. Laekna’s most advanced clinical trial is an open-label, randomized, multi-regional Phase 2 PROFECTA-II clinical trial of afuresertib, the world’s first registration-directed clinical trial of an AKT kinase inhibitor to treat platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

“As Laekna celebrates its fifth anniversary in April, I would like to thank our new and existing investors. Over the past five years, it has been our honor to be recognized and supported by all of our partners. I believe that the time has come for Laekna as we work together with like-minded partners towards a better future,” said Dr. Chris Lu, Chairman and CEO of Laekna. “We have arrived at a critical stage, and we understand that drug discovery and development is a long and often arduous journey. We remain committed to our vision to cure for a better future.”

CS Capital life science investment team said, “The global biopharmaceutical industry is booming and has a myriad of thriving players. We decided to invest in Laekna as its R&D pipeline, innovation capabilities and management team deeply impressed us. We will work together with Laekna to help it become a partner and a leader in the industry to benefit patients worldwide.”