Deals and Financings

Armo Biosciences (NSDQ: ARMO), a Bay Area immuno-oncology company, agreed to be acquired by Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) in a $1.6 billion transaction (see story). Last year, Armo raised $67 million in a 2017 Series C-1 funding from China investors. Four months ago, Armo completed a $128 million IPO at a $500 million valuation. Lilly offered to pay $50 per share for Armo, a three-fold increase from the IPO price and a 67% jump from its previous close, to acquire the company with its portfolio of immuno-oncology candidates.  

Luye Pharma (HK: 2186) of Yantai will acquire rights to AstraZeneca's (NYSE: AZN) Seroquel in the UK, China and other countries for $538 million (see story). Seroquel is an atypical anti-psychotic used to treat various forms of depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other conditions. The agreement includes Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate) and Seroquel XR, which produced revenues of $148 million annually in the covered territories. The drugs are off-patent in most countries. After a transition period, Luye will manufacture the drug.

WeDoctor, an online healthcare platform, closed a $500 million pre-IPO funding at a $5.5 billion valuation (see story). WeDoctor, which is part of TenCent  (HK: 0700), China's giant internet company, is expected to list on the Hong Kong exchange later this year with a goal of raising $1 billion. The latest round was led by AIA Group, a medical insurance company, and NWS Holdings. AIA will become the preferred insurance provider for the site.  

WuXi AppTec (SHA: 603259) completed a $345 million IPO of the company's main CRO business on the Shanghai stock exchange (see story). WuXi’s stock price rose 44% almost immediately after the stock market opened. Previously, WuXi listed its WuXi Biologics business in Hong Kong and its STA small-molecule operations on China's Third Board. Its WuXi NextCODE genomics services remains unlisted. The company was taken private just over two years ago.  

CStone Pharma of Suzhou raised $260 million in a Series B financing, which the company claims is the largest Series B round for any China biopharma (see story). A two-year-old company, CStone has now raised $410 million to support its ambitious portfolio of ten immuno-oncology candidates. The company is focused on discovering new combinations of drugs that address cancers with high incidence in China. The B round was led by GIC Private Limited, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and joined by a list of well-known new and existing investors.  

Unisound, a China artificial intelligence and voice recognition company, announced a $100 million C financing led by China Electronics Health Fund (see story). Unisound will use the money, at least in part, to develop medical products, including voice recognition and AI analysis, for uses such as transcribing doctors' notes of patients' visits. UniSound believes that complicated voice recognition products are too often comprised of disparate technologies that do not work together properly.  

Zhejiang BangEr Orthopedic Hospitals raised $47 Million in a Series C financing that was led by Qiming Venture Partners (see story). Headquartered in Hangzhou, BangEr offers private orthopedic services through a network of 14 hospitals, providing western-style treatment. Its facilities include a 400-bed orthopedic hospital in Jiaxing City for complicated cases, a facility that draws from the company's other "feeder" units. The company has a regional presence and plans to eventually spread across all of China.  

Suzhou's MabSpace Biosciences completed a $40 million B round to support its antibody programs (see story). Based on its proprietary discovery platform, MabSpace has formed discovery partnerships with other biopharmas while it has developed its own innovative portfolio of drug candidates. One month ago, the company began a US Phase I trial of its lead molecule, a PD-L1 antibody for cancer. It expects to begin a similar China trial soon. The B Round was led by Sequoia Capital China and joined by Lilly Asia Ventures and King Star.  

Ascletis Pharma of Hangzhou has the honor of being the first pre-revenue China biopharma to file for a Hong Kong IPO (see story). Previously, a company had to show two years of profitability before the exchange would consider a filing. Ascletis is close to completing regulatory review of a two-drug combo that treats hepatitis C with a 99% success rate. It plans to offer the regimen in China at a discount to Gilead Sciences' (NSDQ: GILD) Harvoni and Solvaldi, which have changed the treatment paradigm for hepatitis C in western countries.  

Company News

Shandong Sinobioway Biomedicine, a Sinobioway (SHZ: 002581) subsidiary, announced plans to build an antibody CMO site located in the Sinobioway biomedical industry park (see story). The new CMO will offer complete manufacturing services, including research labs, 3×500L commercial production, 500L pivot scale, 200L pivot scale, formulation, storage and quality control. By 2023, it is expected to receive $471 million and have 500,000L capacity in the CMO.  

Disclosure: none.