Kimi's operations are optimistic in the next year. Subsidiary Leicester will be listed in the stock market next year.

From the left in the picture are Kimi General Manager Jiang Junqi, Chairman Zhou Mengxian, and Leicester Technical Chief Yang Yuzhen. (Photo by reporter Chen Yongji)

Jiang Junqi, general manager of domestic gene sequencing giant Keelong Meeks (referred to as "Kimi", stock code: 4195), pointed out today (9th) that its subsidiary Lester has officially launched a new round of capital market layout and accelerated the IPO process after introducing aerospace experts and China National Development Fund to complete the seed round of financing, and strive to build the group's second growth curve. As for parent company Kimi, its current production capacity is fully loaded and its operations are optimistic next year.

Kimi, who has been deeply involved in genomic technology for more than 25 years, relies on the technical foundation of gene sequencing, clinical testing, bioinformatics and biomedical analysis. In recent years, he has actively expanded polyomics services and nucleic acid CDMO business to create a one-stop biomedical integration platform covering basic research, clinical application and drug development.

With technological upgrading and overseas expansion, Kimi has successfully entered the Asia-Pacific biotechnology industry supply chain. At present, the nucleic acid CDMO business is accelerating the negotiation of outsourced manufacturing contracts. The advantages of integrated multi-body analysis have also attracted major international pharmaceutical companies to discuss cooperation, allowing Kimi to leap from traditional testing services to a high-added value international biomedical platform and enter a new stage of operational growth.

Leicester Biomedical, a subsidiary established in 2023 after being split from Kimi, currently has a paid-in capital of 196 million yuan and focuses on the research and development of new antibiotic sensitizers, metabolic disease drugs and short-chain nucleic acid drugs. Among them, the new antibiotic sensitizer LB001, which is progressing rapidly, targets the increasingly serious fields of antibiotic resistance (AMR) and chronic infections around the world. It is expected to apply for a Phase I clinical trial application (IND) to the US FDA in the second half of next year.

Yang Yuzhen, chief technology officer of Leicester, said that LB001 adopts a development strategy that is different from traditional antibiotics that simply aim at killing bacteria. Instead, it focuses on dismantling the dual defense mechanism of bacteria. In addition to overcoming and interfering with the key defense network "Biofilm" established by bacteria in the human body, it also further explores the weakening of the intrinsic defense capabilities of the bacteria themselves. Biofilm not only blocks drug penetration, but also causes bacteria to remain dormant and cause repeated infections. LB001 inhibits biofilm formation and greatly enhances its therapeutic potential through synergistic effects with existing antibiotics, providing a new auxiliary treatment option for currently difficult-to-treat drug-resistant infections.