Oricell Closes $110M Pre-IPO CAR-T Round for Solid Tumors

Oricell Therapeutics, a Shanghai-based biotech, has closed a “pre-IPO” venture funding round raising more than $110 million to advance cell therapies for tough-to-treat solid tumors. The company’s lead program, Ori-C101, is being tested against advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, and has completed early human testing with a claimed best-in-class efficacy and safety profile.

Oricell’s approach includes “armored” CAR-T technology designed to help cell therapies persist through immune-suppressing tumor environments, and it targets GPC3, which is highly expressed on cancerous liver cells. The company also has additional named programs, including OriCAR-017 in a Phase 1/2 trial for multiple myeloma in China.