What Help Therapeutics does

Help Therapeutics is a clinical-stage Chinese biotechnology company developing allogeneic, off-the-shelf cell therapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) for degenerative diseases, with a primary focus on advanced and end-stage heart failure. Founded in 2016 in Nanjing by Dr. Eugene J. Wang, the company has built a pipeline of iPSC-derived products, including lead candidate HiCM-188 (an intramyocardial injection of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, the first iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte therapy to receive IND clearance in both China and the United States), HiCM-388 (acute myocardial infarction), HMM-910 (osteoporosis), and HiO-630 (dry age-related macular degeneration), supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology-authorized iPSC Cell Bank for rare disease research.

The company's core technology platform combines proprietary serum-free, genetic vector-free, integration-free iPSC reprogramming with a self-developed fully automated manufacturing system (Cellfoundry / HELP Cell-foundry) compliant with US and Chinese cGMP standards. The company has demonstrated first-in-human clinical activity in cardiac regeneration, with Nature publishing its 2020 study of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes for end-stage heart failure and Circulation publishing follow-on mechanism data in 2022. Manufacturing is anchored in Nanjing, with additional offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Beijing.

Help Therapeutics is pre-revenue and monetizes through a combination of expected direct hospital sales and licensing/co-development partnerships post-approval. Its go-to-market model blends enterprise field sales to major hospital and clinical trial sites with strategic commercialization partnerships, exemplified by the 2025 China Resources Sanjiu co-development and commercialization deal for HiCM-188 in Mainland China, alongside future licensing royalties and milestone payments tied to pipeline assets. Capital is sourced from venture and growth investors led by Juming Venture Capital, with cumulative funding in the hundreds of millions of dollars across multiple rounds from 2019 to 2025.

Name

Help Therapeutics

Legal name

HELP Therapeutics Co. Ltd

Website

https://en.helptherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Help Therapeutics is a clinical-stage Chinese biotech developing allogeneic iPSC-derived cell therapies, with lead asset HiCM-188 (cardiomyocytes for advanced heart failure) in Phase II trials in China and Phase I/II in the US, Singapore, and Thailand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regenerative Medicine (Cell Therapy)

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Cell Therapy Developers (Allogeneic/Off-the-shelf) (HLAAABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stem Cell Therapies (MSC/iPSC/HSC-derived) (HLAAABAE), Stem Cell–Based Regenerative Therapies (HLAAAGAA), Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods) (HLAAABAL)

Keywords

• IPSC cell therapy
• Regenerative medicine
• Cardiomyocyte therapy
• Heart failure treatment
• Cell therapy platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Nanjing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. iPSC Cell Therapy Products: Revenue from sale of allogeneic off-the-shelf iPSC-derived cell therapy products for treatment of degenerative diseases. Lead product HiCM-188 (cardiomyocytes) is in Phase II clinical trials in China and Phase I/II in US, Singapore, and Thailand. Once approved, products will be commercialized through direct hospital sales and partnership channels.
2. Co-development and Licensing Revenue: Strategic partnerships for co-development and commercialization of pipeline products generate revenue through milestone payments, development support, and commercialization royalties. Partnership with China Resources Sanjiu for HiCM-188 in Mainland China exemplifies this model.
3. iPSC Cell Banking Services: As the officially recognized iPSC rare disease cell repository in China's 14th Five-Year Plan, the company provides high-quality and diverse biological samples to research units and enterprises to accelerate rare disease research and orphan drug development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Help Therapeutics develops and manufactures allogeneic, off-the-shelf cell therapy products derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) targeting degenerative diseases, with a lead product HiCM-188 (iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte injection) for advanced and end-stage heart failure currently in Phase II trials in China and Phase I/II trials in the US, Singapore, and Thailand. The company also operates a government-authorized iPSC biospecimen bank for rare disease research and a fully automated cGMP-compliant cell manufacturing platform (Cellfoundry) supporting its pipeline.

Product overview

HELP Therapeutics is a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company developing a unified platform of allogeneic, off-the-shelf iPSC-derived cell therapy products. The core offering centers on HiCM-188, an iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte injection for advanced heart failure currently in Phase II trials in China and Phase I/II trials internationally. Supporting infrastructure includes the iPSC Cell Bank for rare disease research and the Cellfoundry automated manufacturing platform. Additional pipeline candidates (HiCM-388, HMM-910, HiO-630) address acute myocardial infarction, osteoporosis, and dry AMD respectively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HiCM-188: iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte injection for treatment of advanced heart failure
• HiCM-388
• HMM-910
• HiO-630
• Cellfoundry
• Help Therapeutics Institute

Products and services

• HiCM-188 Allogeneic, off-the-shelf iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte injection for the treatment of advanced and end-stage heart failure. It is the first and only iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte therapy to receive IND clearance in both China and the United States, intended for hospital-based administration to heart failure patients who have exhausted conventional therapies.
• HiCM-388 Pipeline-stage iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte therapy in development for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (post-reperfusion) in China.
• HMM-910 Pipeline-stage iPSC-derived cell therapy in development for the treatment of osteoporosis in China.
• HiO-630 Pipeline-stage iPSC-derived cell therapy in development for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in China, supported by an iPSC-RPE translational research program approved by Jiangsu provincial and municipal authorities.
• iPSC Cell Bank Government-authorized iPSC biospecimen bank — the first authorized by China's Ministry of Science and Technology for human genetic resources conservation and the only officially recognized iPSC rare disease cell repository in China's 14th Five-Year Plan — providing high-quality and diverse biological samples to research units and enterprises for rare disease research and orphan drug development.
• Cellfoundry Fully automated cell production and quality control platform compliant with US and China cGMP standards, supporting large-scale, standardized manufacturing of iPSC-derived therapeutic cell products with reduced batch-to-batch variation and lower production costs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 24-month follow-up data from three patients showed excellent efficacy and safety of iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte drugs for severe heart failure treatment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core/flagship, moderate and minor.

• China Resources Sanjiucore/flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2025HELP Therapeutics and China Resources Sanjiu Pharmaceutical Company announced a strategic partnership to co-develop and commercialize HiCM-188 for advanced heart failure in Mainland China. China Resources Sanjiu is one of China's largest pharmaceutical companies. The partnership leverages their exceptional clinical network, innovation mindset, and commercial capabilities to accelerate therapy availability to patients and contribute to the growth of China's cell therapy industry.
• Jiangsu Provincial People's HospitalmoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2022HELP Therapeutics and Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital collaborate on iPSC-RPE (retinal pigment epithelial) clinical translational research for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The project was approved for provincial and municipal projects by Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Department and Nanjing Science and Technology Bureau. Prof. Liu Qinghuai and Prof. Yuan Songtao from the hospital are collaborating on this initiative.
• University of MacaumoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 July 2022HELP Therapeutics partnered with Zhuhai University Institute of Science and Technology (representing University of Macau) to build a joint laboratory for regenerative medicine research. Located in Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone at the Chinese Medicine and Translational Medicine Research and Development Center. The collaboration focuses on degenerative diseases and cell therapy translation, combining HELP Therapeutics' technical advantages with Prof. Chen Guokai's team research capabilities.
• Oujiang LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Joint laboratory established with Oujiang Laboratory in 2022 as part of the company's expansion of academic-industry research partnerships in regenerative medicine.
• Nanjing Gulou Hospitalcore/flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Nanjing Gulou Hospital collaborated with HELP Therapeutics on the world's first human study of iPSC cells for end-stage heart failure (HEAL-CHF clinical trial, NCT03763136). Professor Dongjin Wang serves as Principal Investigator. 24-month follow-up data from three patients showed excellent efficacy and safety. This collaboration produced the Nature-published 2020 landmark study.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Heartseed: Japanese clinical-stage biotech developing iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (HS-001) for heart failure, the most directly comparable iPSC-cardiomyocyte competitor to HiCM-188 in the same indication and modality.
• Fate Therapeutics: US clinical-stage biotech developing off-the-shelf iPSC-derived cell therapies using a similar reprogramming platform; comparable in modality (allogeneic iPSC) and in early-clinical stage development across multiple indications.
• Century Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech engineering allogeneic iPSC-derived immune and stem cell therapies; comparable as a next-generation iPSC platform company with multiple pipeline programs at clinical stage.
• BlueRock Therapeutics: Bayer-owned clinical-stage biotech developing iPSC-derived engineered cell therapies (including cardiac programs); directly comparable iPSC modality with strong corporate backing and parallel platform ambition.
• Capricor Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing cell therapy (CAP-1002, cardiosphere-derived cells) for Duchenne muscular dystrophy-related cardiomyopathy and heart failure; directly comparable cardiac cell therapy focus with later-stage clinical data.
• Pluristem Therapeutics: Clinical-stage cell therapy company using placenta-derived adherent stromal cells, including for heart failure (PLX-PAD); comparable in regenerative cell therapy modality and cardiac indication overlap.

Emerging players

• Cynata Therapeutics: Australia-based clinical-stage company developing iPSC-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapies, including for cardiovascular indications; overlaps with HELP in iPSC modality and regenerative medicine focus.

Broad incumbents

• Mesoblast: Commercial-stage regenerative medicine company with allogeneic cell therapies including Revascor for heart failure; comparable in cardiac cell therapy indication and serves as an indicator of commercial-stage reimbursement dynamics.
• Evotec: Large CRO/discovery platform with an iPSC-based drug discovery and cell therapy infrastructure (via alliance partners); comparable as a broader iPSC platform player with industrial-scale cell manufacturing capability.
• Sumitomo Pharma: Japanese pharma with a strategic partnership and equity stake in Heartseed for iPSC-derived cardiac cell therapy; comparable as an incumbent investor/commercializer in the iPSC cardiac space and a likely Asia-Pacific commercialization peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Help Therapeutics