US biotech Oblenio Bio raises US$62m Series B for an autoimmune T-cell engager optioned from China's Leads Biolabs

Summary

Oblenio Bio closed an oversubscribed US$62m Series B on 25 June 2026, led by Pfizer Ventures with Deep Track Capital, GV and founding investor Aditum Bio. Its lead asset, LBL-051, is a CD19xBCMAxCD3 tri-specific T-cell engager meant to reset the immune system in severe autoimmune disease. Oblenio holds an exclusive option to a global license for the drug from Leads Biolabs of Nanjing, China, which announced the round in parallel. Preclinical primate data presented at EULAR 2026 showed complete B-cell and plasma-cell depletion without cytokine release syndrome. Proceeds fund initial clinical development.

The split

US biopharma coverage frames Oblenio through the competitive autoimmune T-cell-engager race and Pfizer Ventures' bet. The Chinese partner's own release foregrounds Leads Biolabs as the discoverer, a reminder that the molecule is Chinese science advanced by a US company. The pattern, Western venture funding a NewCo built around a China-originated asset, is now common enough that both sides publicise their half of it.

By the numbers

• US$62m, oversubscribed Series B.
• LBL-051, a CD19xBCMAxCD3 tri-specific T-cell engager.
• EULAR 2026, where preclinical primate data were shown.
• Pfizer Ventures, Deep Track, GV, Aditum Bio, the syndicate.
• June 25, 2026, announced.

Why it matters

Cross-border licensing is reshaping biotech: Chinese labs increasingly discover assets that US-domiciled companies raise Western capital to develop and commercialise. Oblenio is a clean case, and its progress will test both the autoimmune T-cell-engager thesis and the durability of US-China drug-licensing pipelines as scrutiny of such deals grows in Washington.

What to watch

• Whether Oblenio exercises the full Leads Biolabs license and enters the clinic on schedule.
• US political scrutiny of China-originated drug assets.
• Competing autoimmune T-cell engagers from larger players.