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Week in Review: This Week's China Pharma Deals Top $1 Billion

publication date: Sep 2, 2017
 | 
author/source: Richard Daverman, PhD

Deals and Financings

Berry Genomics (SHZ: 000710), a Beijing diagnostics and sequencing company, completed its $648 million reverse merger that lists the company on the Shenzhen exchange (see story). Berry merged into a company formerly known as Chengdu Tianxing Instrument & Meter, but the company's legacy business has been sold off and its name was changed to Berry Genomics earlier this month. Founded in 2010, Berry is known for its non-invasive prenatal DNA screening test. It has also expanded into genetic testing for disease screening and diagnosis.

China's iPharma signed a binding term sheet to in-license Greater China rights for a clinical-stage immunotherapy candidate from Mologen (F: MGN)  of Berlin (see story). The deal could be worth up to $120 million plus royalties. iPharma is an in-licensing joint venture formed by I-Bridge Capital of China and BioLineRx (NSDQ/TASE: BLRX), an Israeli pharma. iPharma will own China rights to Mologen's lead asset, lefitolimod, which is currently in a Phase III trial for colorectal cancer and a Phase II trial for lung cancer.  

Suzhou's CF PharmaTech, a company focused on inhalation products, raised $65 million in a Series D funding (see story). The company operates state-of-art research and manufacturing facilities, compliant with US, EU and China regulations, to develop and make products for China and the world. The company's manufacturing facility is located in Suzhou and its R&D operations are in Wuxi. CF PharmaTech said its latest investment round will expedite submissions for approval of its own pipeline and expand its CDMO services for international clients.  

aTyr Pharma (NSDQ: LIFE), a San Diego-Hong Kong biotherapeutics company, announced a $45.8 million private placement (see story). The company will use the capital to advance its portfolio, which aims to treat rare immune-mediated diseases and cancer. In several Phase Ib/II trials, the company's lead drug, Resolaris, showed efficacy. aTyr says the drug "resets" the immune system without making patients susceptible to disease. The company's majority owned subsidiary, Pangu BioPharma, operates a research laboratory at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.  

Akeso Biopharma, a Zhongshan antibody company, closed a $45 million B round, led by the GTJA Investment Group (see story). Founded in 2012, Akeso subjects its antibody candidates to 3D analysis simulations. It says the process improves the antibody's affinity for a target by a factor of up to 100 times. Two years ago, Merck/MSD agreed to a $200 million package of milestones in return for global rights to an Akeso immune checkpoint antibody. Akeso is currently developing 25 research projects involving drugs for oncology, inflammation, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases.  

Fosun Pharma (SHA: 600196; HK: 2196) continued to implement its acquisitive strategy by paying $40 million to acquire a 65% stake in Shanghai SinoMedCare Biotech, a company that specializes in medical marketing in tier 3 cities (see story). Fosun has the right to buy the remaining 35% of SinoMedCare in two tranches over the next six years. SinoMedCare, which has been supported by Vivo Ventures, focuses on providing sales and marketing in non-major China cities for multinational pharmas/device companies. It aims to modernize operations with its proprietary cloud-based decision support system.

Distinct Healthcare of China closed a $40 million C funding round to support its chain of China medical clinics (see story). Distinct operates 20 clinics in six China cities, mostly in Southern China and Hong Kong. It partners with established MDs, who either have worked or continue to work at large public hospitals. The company helps the doctors open new clinics, and then provides administrative, back-end and infrastructure support. The C round included long-time Distinct supporter Matrix Partners China along with Tiantu Capital, China International Capital, Qianhai Fund of Funds, and Shuimu Fund.  

Shuidi, a China crowdfunding platform aimed at helping people pay for healthcare, raised $24 million in a Series A round (see story). The funding was led by Tencent Holdings (Shuidi is available on Tencent’s WeChat mobile app) and BlueRun Ventures. Founded in 2016, Shuidi operates three platforms: a crowdfunding platform Shuidichou, an online medical community Shuidichou, and a medical insurance platform Shuidibao. Shuidi is the brainchild of Shen Peng, a co-founder of Meituan Waimai, a food delivery platform that is part of Meituan, a major China provider of on-demand services.  

Company News

Beijing's Yisheng Biopharma reported that its first-in-class immuno-oncology candidate, YS-ON-001, showed strong anti-tumor efficacy in pre-clinical tests, though Yisheng did not release specific data (see story). Unlike most immuno-oncology candidates, YS-ON-001 has neither a PD-1 or CAR-T mechanism. The company said YS-ON-001 out-performed PD-1 candidates in one-on-one tests, but when combined with a PD-1 candidate, the efficacy of YS-ON-001 was increased in several animal models of solid tumor cancers, including triple negative breast cancer. YS-ON-001, a biologic drug, promotes several immune reactions including Th1-based inflammation.  

Trials and Approvals

iCAD (NSDQ: ICAD), a New Hampshire medical device maker, announced CFDA approval of its Xoft Axxent balloon applicators, which are used in Brachytherapy treatment of breast cancer (see story). The devices allow a small radiation source to be placed in the cavity created during a lumpectomy. The low dose radiation affects tissue close to the source, while minimizing harm to more distant tissue. The CFDA approval allows iCAD to market its complete Xoft® Axxent® Electronic Brachytherapy (eBx®) System® as an intraoperative treatment in China for women with early-stage breast cancer.  

Disclosure: none.


 

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