Expedition Therapeutics — fresh off in-licensing its lead asset from Fosun Pharmaceutical — has raised $165 million via a series A financing to drive forward development of the programme. The funding was co-led by Sofinnova Investments and Novo Holdings, with other participants including Forbion, Dawn Biopharma and Sanofi Ventures, alongside existing investors BVF Partners and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. In August, Expedition paid $17 million upfront to Fosun for ex-China rights to the once-daily, oral DPP1 inhibitor XH-S004, now known as EXPD-101. The drug is currently being investigated in a Phase II bronchiectasis study in China, led by Fosun. Expedition said Thursday that funds from the series A will be used to advance EXPD-101 through a global Phase II study in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as supporting indication expansion across a range of neutrophil-driven inflammatory diseases. "DPP1 represents an exciting new mechanism for COPD, and EXPD-101 has the potential to be a first-in-class therapy with this target," remarked Yi Larson, Expedition's CEO. Larson founded the company in 2024 with the aim of building a portfolio of drug candidates in-licensed from Asia for global development.Alongside the financing, Expedition said that Andrew Cheng — the current CEO of Akero Therapeutics, which on Thursday announced a $4.7-billion takeover by Novo Nordisk — will become chairman of the board.