Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG) said today it received a $43.13 million strategic investment from Wuhan Dangdai Science & Technology Industries Group, a Chinese-owned conglomerate whose holdings include biopharmaceutical businesses.

“The funding will augment resources for our long-term clinical trials in stem cell indications and multiple T-cell Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR-T) trials in liquid and solid tumor cancers,” Tony (Bizuo) Liu, CFO and incoming CEO of CBMG, said in a statement.

The publicly traded CBMG focuses on developing cell-based therapies using its cellular platforms for disorders that represent large unmet needs in China, including cancer, orthopedic diseases (including osteoarthritis and tissue damage), various inflammatory diseases, and metabolic diseases.

The company uses two cell platforms. One is designed to generate immune cell therapies for a broad range of cancers using vaccines, CAR-T, and anti-PD-1 technologies. The other is designed to produce human adipose-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells (haMPC) for treatment of joint and autoimmune diseases.

CBMG has U.S. offices in Cupertino, CA, with primary research and manufacturing facilities in China, where the company has operations in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in Hong Kong. CBMG’s GMP facilities in China consist of nine independent cell production lines.

“With their strong China presence and budding foray into the U.S., we are confident that the team will monetize their translational medicine pipeline to improve patients’ quality of life,” stated Dangdai CEO Zhou Han Sheng.

Founded in 1988, privately held Dangdai owns several Chinese publicly listed entities, as well as private companies in North America and Africa. In addition to biopharmas, Dangdai owns companies in industries as wide-ranging as media and entertainment, real estate development, tourism, agriculture, textile, and financial services. 

Dangdai will invest its $43.13 million in 2.27 million shares of CBMG’s common stock, representing a 19.4% stake. At $19 per share, Dangdai’s investment represents a premium of 10.4% over Wednesday’s closing price.

CBMG said it has received $5 million and issued 263,158 shares to Dangdai to date. The Hubei Province Department of Commerce is processing Dangdai’s remaining funding of $38.13 million as an outbound foreign direct investment.

The company added that it expects funding completion before April 15. As part of the deal, CBMG has also invited Dangdai to occupy an observer seat on its Board of Directors.

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