[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Metapines, a bio-venture specializing in metabolic cancer, announced on the 28th that it has secured 20 billion KRW in Series B funding.
In this Series B round, existing investors such as DSC Investment and Korea BMI made follow-up investments, while new investors including Korea Investment & Securities, Prodigy Investment, Meritz Securities, Meritz Capital, Industrial Bank of Korea, IP Ventures·Jungdong Finance, and SNS Investment also participated.
Metapines is developing low-toxicity metabolic anticancer agents. Its distinctive feature is the design of metabolic anticancer compounds that inhibit cell proliferation through different mechanisms, allowing for mutual synergy.
In June last year, Metapines received approval for its clinical trial plan (IND) for Phase 1 from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and is currently conducting domestic clinical trials at three institutions: Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, and Bundang CHA Hospital. Additionally, in January, it submitted an IND for Phase 1 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and received approval.
A Metapines representative stated, “We successfully secured investment despite the challenging bio-investment environment by demonstrating the technology and pipeline value of our metabolic anticancer new drug. With the Series B funds, we plan to verify the safety and efficacy of 'ASCA101,' which is currently in clinical trials, and will also accelerate the development of mitochondrial-based degenerative disease and anticancer new drugs, as well as anticancer palliative treatments such as cancer cachexia.”
Founded in 2018, Metapines previously raised 9 billion KRW in Series A funding. With this Series B round, the total accumulated investment has reached 29 billion KRW.
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