AusperBio Raises $120 Million to Advance Hepatitis B Drug

AusperBio Therapeutics has raised $120 million in a Series C financing round to support the development of its experimental treatments for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and prepare its lead drug candidate for potential commercialization.

The financing was led by a strategic investor and included new investment from RA Capital Management, along with continued support from existing investors HanKang Capital, Sherpa Capital, InnoPinnacle Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, YuanBio Venture Capital and CDH Investments.

With the latest funding, AusperBio has raised a total of $360 million since 2024. The company said the financing reflects continued investor interest in its oligonucleotide-based drug development programs.

A major focus of the new funding will be AHB-137, AusperBio’s lead investigational antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy for chronic hepatitis B. The company plans to use the proceeds to support its Phase 3 registrational program and prepare for potential commercialization.

Chronic hepatitis B is caused by long-term infection with the hepatitis B virus and can lead to serious liver complications, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. Current treatments can control the virus but often do not eliminate the infection, creating a need for therapies that could deliver a functional cure.

AusperBio also plans to use the funding to accelerate development of AHB-171, an investigational hepatitis B small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy. The candidate is being developed using the company’s proprietary Au-HALO targeted delivery platform.

The company will also advance next-generation combination treatments for chronic hepatitis B and expand its pipeline of targeted oligonucleotide therapies for diseases with significant unmet medical needs.

Guofeng Cheng, co-founder and CEO of AusperBio, said the Series C financing represents an important step as the company moves AHB-137 toward potential commercialization while continuing to develop new hepatitis B treatments.

AusperBio said AHB-137 has shown promising clinical activity in patients and could potentially serve as a backbone therapy in a future functional cure approach for chronic hepatitis B.

The company is developing several oligonucleotide technologies, including its Med-Oligo ASO platform, Au-HALO targeted delivery platform and siRNA discovery platform. These technologies are designed to support different approaches for producing deeper and longer-lasting antiviral responses.

The new financing gives AusperBio additional resources to advance AHB-137 through late-stage development while building a broader pipeline of targeted therapies. The company said its long-term goal is to develop treatments capable of achieving a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B.