New investors include Pfizer Ventures and Apricot Capital with proceeds to advance pipeline and global expansion

Vibrant’s lead solid tumor program, VIB305, is a logic-gated, dual-targeting masked T-cell engager for EGFR-positive solid tumors and recently received US FDA IND acceptance

Vibrant Therapeutics (“Vibrant”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation intelligent therapeutics, today announced $61 million in new financing. The financing includes new investors Pfizer Ventures and Apricot Capital with participation from Bayland Capital, HSG, Northern Light Venture Capital, and First Principle Venture Limited. This brings Vibrant’s total capital raised to $100 million.

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Han Lee, PhD, co-CEO, Vibrant Therapeutics

The company also announced the appointment of Han Lee, Ph.D., as co-chief executive officer (CEO), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its lead program, VIB305, for the treatment of EGFR-positive solid tumors.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Vibrant’s robust pipeline, as well as further develop its proprietary next-generation drug design platform and expand the company’s team to support continued growth and global development activities.

“Vibrant’s intelligently designed logic-gated approach to developing next-generation therapeutics represents a compelling opportunity potentially in multiple therapeutic areas,” said Michael Diem, M.D., senior managing partner at Pfizer Ventures and vice president, Worldwide Business Development (WWBD). “We look forward to supporting the Vibrant team as they advance their science into the clinic.”

“Vibrant represents the type of platform-driven company we seek to support – one that pairs innovative science with a clear path to global development,” said Arthur Qiang, Ph.D., managing partner at Apricot Capital. “The company’s logic-gated approach and rapid progress with VIB305 underscore its potential to meaningfully expand the therapeutic window in solid tumors, and we are excited to partner with the team as they enter this next phase of growth.”

Vibrant’s lead program, VIB305, is a logic-gated, masked T-cell engager (TCE) prodrug designed to remain inactive in circulation and healthy tissues and selectively activate within the tumor microenvironment. VIB305 employs a dual-targeting strategy directed at EGFR-expressing solid tumors, with activation governed by tumor-associated biological signals, enabling tumor-restricted activity and the potential to expand the therapeutic window relative to conventional approaches. VIB305 is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials in Australia and China. The FDA’s acceptance of the IND for VIB305 enables initiation of U.S. clinical studies and supports Vibrant’s strategy to advance its programs through globally relevant development pathways.

“We are pleased to close these financings and welcome Dr. Lee as co-CEO, who will help guide Vibrant’s global expansion and advance its pipeline toward broader development outside of China,” said Larry Wang, Ph.D., founder and co-CEO of Vibrant Therapeutics. “We are also excited to advance VIB305 into clinical development, validating the strength of our platform and the promise of our pipeline to deliver prodrug therapies designed to improve safety and efficacy for people with solid tumors.”

Dr. Lee added, “Vibrant has built a differentiated platform that combines intelligent molecular design with disease-selective biology. I’m excited to partner with Larry and the team to help scale the organization globally and advance programs like VIB305 toward meaningful impact for patients.”

Michael Diem, M.D., senior managing partner of Pfizer Ventures and vice president, WWBD, Trency Gu, managing director of HSG, and Zhen Zhang, managing director of Apricot Capital, will join Vibrant’s board of directors.

Han Lee, Ph.D., Brings Global Company-building Expertise

Han Lee, Ph.D., is an experienced biotechnology executive with more than 15 years of leadership experience spanning company building, corporate development, finance, and strategic transactions across the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Vibrant Therapeutics, Dr. Lee served as president and chief financial officer of ImmPACT Bio, where he was an integral member of the deal team supporting the company’s acquisition by Lyell Immunopharma. Previously, he held senior executive roles at Neogene, Arcellx, and AstraZeneca, where he led or contributed to financings, IPO preparations, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships spanning more than 50 deals and billions in aggregate transaction value. He holds a Ph.D. in genetics and an MBA from Yale University, and a bachelor’s degree in molecular cell biology and a minor in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

Intelligently Designed Logic-gated Platform Accelerates Drug Design and Optimization

Building on its deep expertise in drug design and immunotherapy, Vibrant focuses on developing next-generation intelligent therapeutics using an independently developed molecular design platform that integrates computational prediction (“dry”) with experimental validation (“wet”) in a tightly coupled, closed-loop R&D model.

This approach leverages advanced computational methods alongside high-throughput experimental verification to accelerate candidate screening and optimization, improve design precision, and address unmet clinical needs in solid tumors. By closely integrating in silico design with laboratory execution, Vibrant aims to shorten development timelines while enhancing the quality and translatability of its drug candidates.

About Vibrant Therapeutics

Vibrant Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing intelligent, logic-gated therapeutics designed to selectively activate in the desired disease microenvironment. Leveraging an integrated computational and experimental (“dry-wet”) R&D platform, the company is advancing a pipeline of innovative first-in-class/best-in-class programs, including masked T-cell engagers for solid tumors, and exploring broader applications of its technology across additional modalities and therapeutic areas. Founded by Larry Wang, Ph.D., co-founder of GenScript, Vibrant is led by a team of seasoned biotech executives formerly of Schering-Plough, Merck, and GenScript. Vibrant is headquartered in Guangzhou, China and Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.vibrantx.com.

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