# Funove (复诺健生物)
Funove, formally 复诺健生物科技有限公司 and known internationally as Virogin Biotech Ltd., is a Chinese-Canadian biotechnology company founded in 2015 that develops oncolytic-virus and mRNA cancer therapies. It is registered in Shenzhen, with research operations spanning Vancouver, Shanghai, and a clinical translation center at Shanghai's Nanxiang Precision Medicine Industrial Park established in 2018.[1](https://mp.ofweek.com/medical/a056714181287) • [2](https://zdb.pedaily.cn/enterprise/show42037/) The Shenzhen legal entity, 深圳复诺健生物科技有限公司, was registered on 2015-08-14 with legal representative William Wei-[Guo Jia](https://www.edgepedia.org/guo-jia) and registered capital of RMB 10 million.[2](https://zdb.pedaily.cn/enterprise/show42037/) As of the most recent retrieved reporting (2023), the company was operating and had raised more than US$300 million in total.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953)
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 2015, by 贾为国 (Wei-Guo Jia) and 黄鸿伟 (Huang Hongwei)[4](https://www.time-weekly.com/post/255118) |
| Legal entity | 深圳复诺健生物科技有限公司, registered Shenzhen 2015-08-14; English name Virogin Biotech Ltd.[2](https://zdb.pedaily.cn/enterprise/show42037/) |
| Sector | Oncolytic virus and mRNA oncology drug development[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) |
| Lead candidate | VG161, a four-transgene HSV-1 oncolytic virus in Phase II trials[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) |
| Total funding | Over US$300 million as of 2023, including a >US$120 million D2 round (September 2021)[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) • [5](https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/news/111-20210924-364641.html) |
| Notable investors | 国寿大健康基金, 鼎晖投资, 国投招商, 深创投[5](https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/news/111-20210924-364641.html) • [6](https://pe.pedaily.cn/202009/460158.shtml) |
| Status | Operating as last documented (2023); no retrieved source records events after mid-2023[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) |
## Founding and founders
The company was formally established in April 2015 by two [Fudan University](https://www.edgepedia.org/fudan-university) alumni who met through alumni connections. 贾为国, the chief scientific officer, is a virologist who began engineering oncolytic viruses in 1991; from September 1994 to June 2019 he was a senior research scientist at the [University of British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-british-columbia) and a tenured associate professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. He co-founded the Canadian entity ([Virogin Biotech](https://www.edgepedia.org/virogin-biotech)) in 2015 and joined full-time in July 2019.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) 黄鸿伟, the chief executive, entered Fudan in 1987, graduated in 1991 into the Sanjiu pharmaceutical group where he became CEO of listed Sanjiu Biochemical, then moved to Canada, earned a CFA, and returned to China in 2014 to work in venture capital; he handles strategy, team-building, and fundraising.[4](https://www.time-weekly.com/post/255118) Chief medical officer 赵荣华 joined roughly two years after founding.[4](https://www.time-weekly.com/post/255118)
In 2019, Funove formed a joint venture, 中生复诺健, with China National Biotec Group (中国生物, part of Sinopharm). In January 2023 the JV's COVID-19 mRNA vaccine encoding the full-length Omicron spike protein received an NMPA clinical trial approval, which the company described as China's first such vaccine encoding full-length Omicron spike.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953)
## Technology and pipeline
Funove's later-generation oncolytic programs are built on a proprietary TTDR (transcription-translation dual regulation) backbone, a non-attenuated HSV-1 virus engineered to replicate selectively in tumor cells, integrated with immune-modulating factors as the Synerlytic platform; the lead candidate VG161 instead uses an earlier, attenuated HSV-1 backbone, as described below. According to the company, the TTDR backbone achieved sustained tumor suppression in preclinical models with a single dose, and complete tumor inhibition at one ten-thousandth the dose required for attenuated oncolytic viruses.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953)
The lead candidate VG161 is described as the first HSV-1 attenuated-backbone oncolytic virus carrying four transgenes: IL12, IL15/15RA (IL15 and the IL15 receptor alpha subunit), and a PD-L1 blocking peptide (PDL1B).[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) VG161 was approved for a Phase I trial in Australia in October 2019, dosed its first patient by April 2020, and received Chinese Phase I approval in September 2020.[6](https://pe.pedaily.cn/202009/460158.shtml) By 2023 it had entered 10 clinical trials globally, including Phase II trials in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) In February 2023 VG161 received US FDA orphan drug designation for ICC, and in June 2023 FDA Fast Track designation for advanced HCC after failure of standard therapy.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) In Phase 1 data, gene-expression analysis of injected tumor samples from two patients showed more than 300 of 700 immune-response-related genes significantly upregulated after treatment, including CD4, CD8, and dendritic-cell markers.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953)
Later-generation candidates use the TTDR backbone. VG201 holds clinical trial approvals from both China's NMPA and the US FDA, with trials underway in both countries; 25 patients globally had been dosed with no dose-limiting toxicities reported.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) VG203 received FDA clearance, announced July 3, 2023, for a Phase 1 trial in advanced solid tumors.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) VG301, described in the company's 2021 release as the world's first oncolytic virus carrying a bispecific antibody, was slated to enter the clinic in 2022.[1](https://mp.ofweek.com/medical/a056714181287)
On the mRNA side, Funove's team, together with a team at Zhujiang Hospital led by 王沂峰, published preclinical results in the journal Immunology for M22H04, a therapeutic anti-HPV mRNA vaccine using a self-adjuvanting antigen design targeting antigen-presenting cells. In animal models it achieved regression of HPV-positive tumors and prevented tumor occurrence, with no obvious toxicity; the LNP-encapsulated single-mRNA design can be delivered by conventional injection without electroporation equipment or additional adjuvant.[7](https://bydrug.pharmcube.com/news/detail/004fd2b773339dd33fd6d3d83b8ff826)
## Funding, by the numbers
Documented rounds, from independent and company-sourced press:
- **Series C, September 2020:** US$62 million, oversubscribed, co-led by 鼎晖投资 and 国投招商, with KIP, 磐霖资本, 领道资本, and others participating.[6](https://pe.pedaily.cn/202009/460158.shtml)
- **D2 round, 2021-09-24:** over US$120 million, led by 国寿大健康基金 with 深创投, 中信建投, and 广发干和 participating; existing shareholders 磐霖资本 and 领道资本 added on, with BMD资本 as exclusive financial advisor.[5](https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/news/111-20210924-364641.html) • [1](https://mp.ofweek.com/medical/a056714181287) Proceeds were earmarked for accelerating oncolytic-virus clinical programs, building the mRNA platform, pipeline R&D, the Shanghai Nanxiang global R&D, and production center (construction beginning imminently with completion planned the following year), and potential strategic partnerships.[5](https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/news/111-20210924-364641.html)
CEO 黄鸿伟 stated at the D2 announcement that the company had completed three financing rounds totaling over US$260 million in the prior year.[1](https://mp.ofweek.com/medical/a056714181287) A 2023 company interview put cumulative funding above US$300 million.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) By circa 2018, early investors including 仙瞳资本, 博润投资, 金浦健康, and 复容投资 had provided rounds totaling tens of millions of dollars.[4](https://www.time-weekly.com/post/255118)
Note on round naming: the company's own release and independent reporting uniformly call the September 2021 round a D2 round of over US$120 million, and that is the naming used here.[1](https://mp.ofweek.com/medical/a056714181287) • [5](https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/news/111-20210924-364641.html)
## Competitive position
[Oncolytic virus therapy](https://www.edgepedia.org/oncolytic-virus-therapy) is a crowded field in China: as of July 2023, 11 oncolytic-virus pipelines had newly received clinical approvals (domestic and foreign) in the country, placing Funove among a competitive domestic cohort.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) Funove's differentiation rests on two claims: the TTDR non-attenuated backbone's dose advantage in preclinical models, and a prime-boost combination strategy pairing systemic mRNA tumor vaccines (priming) with intra-tumoral oncolytic viruses (immune unmasking), with multiple mRNA tumor vaccine candidates in preclinical development ahead of IND filing.[3](https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953) This differs from pure mRNA players, whose vaccines rely on systemic delivery alone. In therapeutic HPV vaccination, where M22H04 sits, no therapeutic vaccine for HPV-related cancers has yet been approved; competitors include Inovio's VGX-3100, BioNTech's BNT113, Vaccitech's VTP-200, and Advaxis's ADXS11-001.[7](https://bydrug.pharmcube.com/news/detail/004fd2b773339dd33fd6d3d83b8ff826)
## References
1. 「复诺健」获投逾1.2亿美元D2轮融资 (Virogin Biotech press release via 维科号). https://mp.ofweek.com/medical/a056714181287
2. 复诺健生物_深圳复诺健生物科技有限公司, 投资界 (registry-derived). https://zdb.pedaily.cn/enterprise/show42037/
3. 专访复诺健：溶瘤病毒将打开CAR-T、ADC市场, 动脉网. https://www.vbdata.cn/1518924953
4. 复诺健：免疫治疗开启癌症治疗的第三次革命, 时代周报. https://www.time-weekly.com/post/255118
5. 溶瘤病毒技术研发商「复诺健」完成1.2亿美元D2轮融资, 投中网. https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/news/111-20210924-364641.html
6. 复诺健完成6200万美元C轮融资，鼎晖、国投招商联合领投, 投资界. https://pe.pedaily.cn/202009/460158.shtml
7. 复诺健团队在《Immunology》上发表治疗性HPV mRNA肿瘤疫苗临床前数据, 医药魔方/ByDrug. https://bydrug.pharmcube.com/news/detail/004fd2b773339dd33fd6d3d83b8ff826
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