The Third Annual ChinaBio® Partnering Forum 2011, held May 11-12 in Beijing, exceeded expectations, growing 19% over last year’s conference, according to co-organizers ChinaBio® LLC and EBD Group (see story). This year’s Partnering Forum was host to 658 attendees from 370 companies and 25 countries. More than 800 one-to-one meetings were held, making this the largest and most productive life science conference in China, according to the organizers.

Deals and Transactions

The highly anticipated Hong Kong IPO of Shanghai Pharma (SHA: 601607, HK: 2607) has been priced at HK$23 per share (see story). That’s just below the midpoint of the announced range, a number that is high enough to qualify the transaction as a success. The reason for the sigh of relief is a string of Hong Kong IPOs that have floundered recently, throwing a fearful pall over this debut, the biggest IPO in Hong Kong this year. The transaction raised HK$15.3 billion ($2 billion).

Just before it completed its Hong Kong IPO, Shanghai Pharma (SHA: 601607, HK: 2607) faced allegations of substandard quality in one of its products (see story). Anhui Huayuan Pharmaceutical filed a formal complaint with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, alleging quality problems with an antibiotic produced by two of its affiliates. Anhui Huayuan Pharma has been distributing the antibiotic, known as Cefotiam, a third generation beta-lactam cephalosporin, for the companies since 2004.

The market for successful China VC funds is hot. The proof? Qiming Ventures raised $450 million for its latest fund – not particularly surprising in itself– but the firm needed just 10 days to top out its third fund, a $450 million initiative (see story). That was $130 million more than the previous one. There’s no mystery about the reason for the company’s success: exits from the first and second funds are both numerous and profitable.

Walvax Biotechnology (SHE: 300142) has reportedly ended negotiations for a tie-up with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) because China regulators decided against allowing GSK to import its measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) (see story). The vaccine was the centerpiece of a JV that Walvax and GSK announced two years ago, and a manufacturing facility was completed one year later. It isn’t immediately clear what “ending negotiations” means for the fate of the facility.

Big Pharma in China

Takeda Pharma (TO: 4502) of Japan wants to grow its China revenues by more than 10 times before the end of 2015, according to the company’s President, Yasuchika Hasegawa (see story). It currently produces 3 billion yen ($37 million) of sales in the PRC. To accomplish its goals, the company will invest “several tens of billions of yen” in China over the next few years – with each ten billion yen worth about $124 million. Takeda will also increase its sales force from 250 representatives to 900.

Company News

ShangPharma (NYSE: SHP), the China CRO that completed its IPO on the NYSE last October, announced its Q1 revenues climbed 26% to $24.8 million and net income (GAAP) rose a somewhat smaller 10% to $3 million (see story). Results were in line with expectations. The company said higher share-based compensation expenses, appreciation of the yuan, and higher material costs kept a lid on profit, offsetting a rise in overall efficiency.

Disclosure: none.