Great Bay Bio Achieves Major Milestone in Series B Financing Round
Great Bay Bio (GBB), a leading biotech company, recently celebrated the successful first close of its Series B financing round. This pivotal moment was marked by the involvement of notable investors, including a prominent strategic investment institution and its affiliate, the Tiger Jade Pebble Accelerator. In addition, GBB attracted fresh interest from a Hong Kong-based family office and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Venture Fund, along with ongoing support from existing global life science investors.
The funding garnered from this financing round is anticipated to be crucial for GBB as it propels the development of its AI-enabled drug development ecosystem. This ecosystem is designed to revolutionize biologics development and enhance global market adoption of GBB's innovative solutions.
GBB's recent advancements have strengthened its position within the biotech sector, spurred by significant technical innovations and market-driven offerings. The company's site-specific cell line development platform, known as AlfaCell, has proven invaluable, allowing clients to achieve clinical trial approvals from both China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). GBB's ACES (Automated Cell Expansion System) offers its partners improved yields and expedited development timelines, particularly with multi-specific antibodies.
Furthermore, GBB has augmented its capabilities by establishing an ISO 9001:2015-certified cell culture powder manufacturing line, guaranteeing a secure and high-quality supply chain for its partners. These advancements have established GBB as a trusted collaborator for multinational corporations within the life sciences, specialty chemicals, and pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) sectors, addressing the growing global demand for quick and efficient product development.
Recently, GBB introduced an integrated ecosystem solution that unifies its advanced technological platforms into a cohesive workflow. This new approach enables partners to expedite drug development processes, taking them from target identification to the pre-clinical candidate generation phase in as little as eight months. Although GBB has just commenced collaborations using this innovative model, early results are encouraging and suggest a transformative impact on speed and efficiency in drug development, delivering exceptional value to global partners.
Kingsley Leung, Co-Founder and Chairman of GBB, stressed the company's global aspirations, noting that GBB was established with a vision that transcends geographical boundaries. He emphasized the organization's commitment to developing globally differentiated technologies, expressing confidence in GBB's continued expansion within the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions, where significant growth opportunities abound. The enthusiastic backing from its Series B investors is a testament to their confidence in GBB's vision and its commitment to pioneering innovations that will transform the biopharmaceutical sector on a global scale.
Emmanuel Hui, the CEO of the Tiger Jade Pebble Accelerator, remarked on the unique challenges faced in integrating AI into the biomedical realm, highlighting that innovators often grapple with the uncertainty of whether their AI products function effectively until extensive testing is completed. He pointed out that GBB's strategic focus on cell lines, culture media, and bioprocessing deviates from traditional AI drug discovery, allowing for immediate feedback and enabling iterative improvements in client offerings.
About Great Bay Bio: Founded and headquartered at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, GBB leverages cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data mining, and automation to enhance drug development. The company's mission, "Global Bioprocessing Made Simpler and More Efficient," aims to address industry challenges related to lengthy timelines, high costs, and low success rates in drug development—ultimately striving to improve human health and well-being. GBB's core team includes experts in medicine, synthetic biology, and AI, working from a 3,000㎡ research and development laboratory designed to support clients in securing the necessary clinical trial approvals from both China's NMPA and the FDA in the U.S. With nearly 100 patents related to AI-driven drug development and numerous commercial successes, GBB has forged enduring partnerships with leading organizations both domestically and globally. The company has received accolades, including several prestigious awards, and has been recognized in the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch 2024 list, underscoring its industry impact and innovation achievements.