China-based Corxel Pharmaceuticals Ltd (previously Jixing Pharmaceutical) reported the closing of a Series D1 finance round at USD 287 million, the proceeds earmarked to support the firm’s global development of its cardiometabolic pipeline, led by CX11, an investigational oral small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA).
Corxel’s investors in this round included RTW Investments, SR One Capital Management, TCG Crossover, RA Capital Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, SymBiosis, and others. Existing investors RTW and Hengdian Group Capital also participated.
Corxel’s CX11 is currently the subject of a Phase II trial in the US for obesity and overweight patients and a Phase III trial in China conducted by partner Vincentage. The firm plans to initiate a global Phase II study in T2DM and begin preparations for Phase III development. The funds will also support progress of other pipeline programs and bolster the company’s global operational and development capabilities across multiregional clinical efforts. Of note, Corxel is looking to follow in the path of Novo Nordisk, which secured FDA approval for its once-daily oral version of GLP-1 agonist semaglutide (Wegovy) in January 2025.
Corxel originally acquired rights to develop CX11 in all global markets outside Greater China from Vincentage. The firm has adopted a licensing model to build up its pipeline of therapies for obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), acute ischemic stroke, hypertension and others. Previous partners include Biogen, for prospective stroke candidate JX10/BIIB131; PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, for hypertension candidate JX09/PB6440; and Cytokinetics for Greater China rights to aficamten, which Corxel later decided to sell on to Sanofi.