The round was led by HerMed Capital. Additional investors included Ping An Ventures, Vi-Ventures and BioSciKin. The company intends to use the proceeds to accelerate the development of its pipeline, expand its gene editing platform technology, as well as to continue to strengthen its leading intellectual property portfolio.

'ASC is delighted to welcome this group of healthcare investors to our existing syndicate. We feel this financing reflects the strong support for our business model and positions us to rapidly advance our company and strategy,' said Ruhong Jiang, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of ASC. 'Our mission is to leverage our extensive expertise in stem cell biology and genome editing for the development of breakthrough technologies that enable scientific discovery and advance human medicine.'

Jerry Xiao, Ph.D. the managing director of HerMed Capital, commented that, 'We are excited to include Applied StemCell as the newest member of our portfolio. By combining the strong technical foundation of Applied StemCell with HerMed's expertise and infrastructure, we believe that we can help accelerate the translation of ASC's scientific advances into transformative therapeutics.'

The managing director of Ping An Ventures, Jiang Zhang, stated that, 'We were immediately struck by the vision and strategy of Applied StemCell, and are confident that the company has the leadership and expertise to deliver on groundbreaking therapeutics using its gene editing technologies.'

ASC's Strategy and Pipeline

ASC's strategy is to utilize its core strengths to expand its IP portfolio and develop a strong therapeutic pipeline based on its patented gene editing technologies. The company's expertise in utilizing genome editing for both animal and cell model generation, as well as its portfolio of improved genome editing technologies, make it uniquely poised to develop transformative solutions to pressing medical challenges.

Applied StemCell's therapeutic pipeline will have a strong focus on monogenic blood disorders that are characterized by high genetic penetrance. Such diseases are a strong point for the company, which specializes in the genetic engineering of stem cell lineages.

About Applied StemCell

Applied StemCell, Inc. is a leading stem cell and gene-editing company focused on the development of products and therapeutics that are enabled by its proprietary gene editing platform technologies TARGATT and CRISPR/Cas9. For more information, please visit www.appliedstemcell.com.

About HerMed Capital

HerMed Capital Fund is a private equity fund that is committed to advancing innovation in the healthcare industry. The Fund represents a partnership between Fosun Pharmaceutical Group - a leading Chinese healthcare conglomerate with a total market capitalization of US$7.32B - and the SK Group - a leading conglomerate and economic pillar in Korea, accounting for 11% of the country's GDP and 11% of exports. The partnership combines unmatched expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry with an extensive network of healthcare and distribution channels.

About Ping An Ventures

Ping An Ventures is a professional VC firm under Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, with a focused interest in funding emerging innovation. The firm is committed to helping its portfolio companies grow and succeed by providing not only funding but also managerial advice, introductions to key opinion leaders and partners, and other needed resources. A Fortune 100 Global Company, Ping An's Chairman & CEO was named to Fortune's 25 Top Business Leaders of 2015.

About BioSciKin

BSK Venture is a life-science fund that is focused on driving innovation in the biomedical community through the development of an integrated life science campus. The fund aims to generate a network of portfolio companies that create an internal eco-system for enabling technological advances. Investments are strategically targeted, and focus on global regions and start-ups with the greatest potential for generating transformative technologies.

About VI Ventures

VI Ventures is a boutique firm that provides seed, venture, and growth-stage funding to ambitious and innovative companies in areas of TMT and MedTech. Additionally, the firm works as a partner with its portfolio companies, contributing expertise in essential services, including branding, marketing, channel development, overseas expansion, human resources and finance. The firm invests in early-stage, cross-border technology companies, and helps enable entry into the massive and fast-growing markets of China and Asia.