April 10, 2019

SAN DIEGO, California, USA, April 10, 2019 -- Cullgen Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of targeted protein degraders for the treatment of diseases lacking effective therapeutic approaches, today announced it has received a $16 million Series A financing from two prominent international venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital China and HighLight Capital. The financing will support the development of Cullgen’s internal pipeline of targeted protein degraders in oncology and other diseases, as well as the company’s efforts to discover novel E3 ligands that may be used as part of a targeted protein degrader complex. Sequoia Capital China will also assign a board member to join Cullgen’s Board of Directors.

“We are delighted to have the support of Sequoia Capital China and HighLight Capital”, said Dr. Ying Luo, Chairman and President of Cullgen Inc. “Since our founding in early 2018 we have made significant advancement of our targeted protein degradation platform which has directly led to the identification of several pre-clinical assets that we are rapidly advancing towards the clinic. In addition to these core scientific advancements, over the past year the company has assembled a distinguished board of scientific advisors, put in place an outstanding senior management team, and established a state-of-the-art laboratory facility that is run by more than 40 highly talented employees. We are grateful that Sequoia Capital China and HighLight Capital will be part of Cullgen’s mission to develop novel targeted protein degraders for the treatment of debilitating diseases.”

About Cullgen Inc.

Cullgen Inc. is a biotechnology company that is at the forefront of targeted protein degradation, a game-changing technology that has lead to the discovery of novel medicines for the development of first-in-class new chemical entities (NCEs) for the treatment of diseases lacking effective therapeutic approaches. We are developing and using our proprietary targeted protein degradation technology platform, uSMITE™, to expand the drug design paradigm beyond functional site inhibition, to make it possible to eliminate previously “undruggable” enzymes and proteins by targeted destruction. More information on Cullgen may be found by visiting our website at: www.cullgen.com

About uSMITE™

uSMITE™ (ubiquitin mediated small molecule induced target elimination) is Cullgen’s proprietary targeted protein degradation platform that is used to identify novel degraders that attach to a disease-causing protein and then signal the body’s ubiquitin proteasome system to eliminate the protein. The platform consists of informatics driven novel E3 ligand identification, protein target identification, and design of optimum small molecule linker molecules

About Sequoia China

The Sequoia China team helps daring founders build legendary companies. In partnering with Sequoia China, companies benefit from our unmatched community and the lessons we’ve learned over 47 years. As “The Entrepreneurs Behind The Entrepreneurs”, Sequoia China focuses on four sectors: TMT, healthcare, consumer/service, and industrial technology. Over the past 14 years we’ve had the privilege of working with more than 500 companies in China.

About HighLight Capital

HighLight Capital currently manages both RMB & USD funds with a total AUM of nearly US$1.5 billion. Since the inception in 2014, the firm has invested in over 40 deals including Mindray (300760), Phamaron (300759), Yuwell (002223), WUXI (603259), Linhwa (835637), STA (832159), Kintor, BrightGene, BAHEAL, Sansure Biotech, Zylox Medical, Kintour Medical, Malo Clinic, Rabbit Dental, Dr. Cuiyutao Healthcare, Chowsing Pet etc. HighLight Capital is dedicated to supporting healthcare companies to generate robust and sustained growth prospect, and partnering with entrepreneurs of dedication and the highest standard.

Contacts

Cullgen Inc.

Thomas Eastling, +81-3-6214-3600

inquiries@cullgen.com