Deals and Financings

Sino Biological, a Beijing company that provides biologic tools to life science researchers, partnered with Life Technologies (NSDQ: LIFE) of San Diego (see story). Life Technologies will distribute Sino Biological's extensive portfolio of recombinant proteins, antibodies and Elisa kits through its own large distribution network. The two companies will also jointly develop new products, leveraging R&D synergies. Life Technologies produces almost $4 billion of revenue per year from its large catalogue of 50,000 products for biopharma researchers.

Shanghai Fosun Pharma received a loan totaling $47 million from the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank unit (see story). According to the IFC, the new capital will be used for strategic acquisitions, increased R&D, expanded manufacturing capacity, a strengthened distribution network and an improved capital structure. In April, Fosun was OK’d to stage an IPO in Hong Kong, rumored to be in the $800 million range. But the company decided in July to postpone the offering, citing market conditions.

CompanDX, a UK diagnostic startup, raised $6.1 million from China sources, the money coming from a combination of government and private investors (see story). The company has developed bioinformatics algorithms to identify the group of patients that will respond to a particular therapy. The investment makes the China investors eligible to receive a percentage of the royalties developed with the capital, but it does not purchase equity in the company – a non-dilutive financing. CompanDX was one of the presenters at the ChinaBio® Investor Forum in BioBay (Suzhou) last September.

Company News

MicroConstants China, a CRO that offers PK analysis and early-stage clinical trial management services in China, said its new facility in Beijing was granted an Endorsement of GLP Compliance from the OECD, an international organization of developed and emerging countries (see story). MicroConstants opened its original China facility in 2007. It moved to a new 8,000 square lab in February. The parent company, MicroConstants, is a San Diego CRO that provides bioanalytical and DMPK services.

WuXi PharmaTech (NYSE: WX) signed a CMO agreement with TaiMed Biologics of Taiwan to manufacture a mAb that was developed to treat HIV (see story). WuXi will make ibalizumab (TMB-355) for the drug’s Phase II and Phase III global clinical trials. Ibalizumab is a viral-entry inhibitor that does not suppress the immune system. WuXi will complete the work at its biologics manufacturing facilities in China and its biologics testing facilities in the US.

Government and Regulatory

China agreed to discuss giving India greater access to its markets for pharma, agriculture and IT products (see story). India has been upset with China because only $18 billion of products flows from India to China, while $57 billion of China products found its way to India over the past 12 months. Most of India’s trade deficit derives from its relationship with China. For its part, China is fretting about a 21% customs duty – done as a warning to China – that India has levied on China power equipment.

Disclosure: none.