Vibrant Therapeutics Raises $61M and Appoints Han Lee, Ph.D. as Co-CEO

GUANGZHOU, China & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 12, 2026--

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.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260112256077/en/

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.

Han Lee, PhD, co-CEO, Vibrant Therapeutics

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 seed Oklahoma overwhelmed No. 13 seed Idaho 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Beers, a senior center, also had four assists and four blocks. Sahara Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points and Payton Verhulst added 14 for the Sooners (25-7), who stopped Idaho's win streak at 18 games. The Vandals hadn’t lost since Jan. 10.

The Sooners pushed the tempo early and were intentional about being balanced. Eventually, they wore the Vandals down.

“I think we’re setting the tone for how we want to play going on into March,” Williams said.

Oklahoma will play No. 5 seed Michigan State in the second round on Sunday. The Spartans outlasted No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the early game on Friday.

Kyra Gardner scored 19 points and Hope Hassmann added 12 for Idaho (29-6). The Vandals shot 24.7% from the field and made just 10 of 46 3-pointers.

Oklahoma played one of its most efficient offensive halves of the season to go up 57-35 at the break. The Sooners shot 59.5% from the field and committed just four turnovers. Williams had 13 points and Verhulst had 12 at the break.

The Sooners opened the second half on an 8-1 run, including six points from Beers, to go up 65-36.

Williams drained a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, but she released it just a bit too late to count. The Sooners took a 76-38 lead into the fourth.

The Sooners created positive energy and the home crowd added more.

“When we have fun, I wouldn’t say a win is guaranteed, but we play a lot better when we have fun and have a smile on our face and we rebound and we score and we assist the ball,” Williams said.

Idaho coach Arthur Moreira said there might be more smiling ahead for the Sooners.

“They’re just a complete team,” he said. “I think they’re equipped to make a big run here. As I was scouting them, it was fun to watch.”

Chavez had five assists and no turnovers, shot a solid 6 for 14 from the field and had six rebounds in her first taste of March Madness.

Strangely, she missed her first two free throws before making two later. She made 70 of 72 free throws during Southeastern Conference play and entered the night shooting 94% from the line overall this season.

Oklahoma made 15 of 21 layups while Idaho made 4 of 19.

Beers was a significant factor in both of those stats. She made five of her six layups and was a pest around the rim defensively. She was a key reason Idaho made just 10 of 35 shots inside the 3-point line.

The women's team made the 30-minute trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday to watch the Idaho men play Houston.

Many of the fans that watched that 78-47 loss showed up in Norman on Friday.

“Just to be in the Idaho section was so cool,” Hassmann said. “And then also to see those fans travel here today — kind of had our own Idaho section, which was super cool to hear them cheer for us and our band and cheerleaders.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Idaho guard Katlin Kangur (14) goes up to shoot beside Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez (2) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Oklahoma center Raegan Beers (15) blocks a shot by Idaho guard Ana Pinheiro (37) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)