Deals and Financings
Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property owner, unveiled plans to invest $10 billion in a Chengdu healthcare park (see story). Plans call for the park to include two tier-one general hospitals, eight smaller specialized hospitals and 30 healthcare-related firms. Last year, Wanda made its first foray into healthcare, investing $2.3 billion to build three China hospitals, one each in Shanghai, Chengdu and Qingdao. The company enlisted Britain’s International Hospitals Group (IHG) to run its initial hospital properties, but its plans for the latest facilities are not known.
Aslan Pharma, a Singapore company developing novel oncology therapies, told Bloomberg News that it expects to raise $40 million in a Taiwan IPO planned for May (see story). The company will float about 10% of its shares, implying a $400 million valuation. So far, Aslan has raised over $100 in venture capital, a number that includes a $23 million funding last year in a pre-IPO round. In February, Aslan reported positive results from a Phase II trial of its lead drug, varlitinib, as a second-line therapy for patients with HER-positive breast cancer.
Tahoe Investment Group (formerly known as Fujian Thai Hot) is offering $75 million to privatize Alliance HealthCare (NSDQ: AIQ), a US provider of outsourced radiology, oncology and interventional services (see story). One year ago, Tahoe paid $102.5 million for a majority 51.5% stake in Alliance. At the time of its original Alliance acquisition, Tahoe said its goal was to expand Alliance’s services into China. In December 2016, Tahoe offered $54 million to purchase the remaining shares, but has now upped its bid to $75 million, a 69% premium over December’s pre-offer stock price.
Beijing’s BeiGene (NSDQ: BGNE) will collaborate with Myriad Genetics (NSDQ: MYGN) to develop a companion diagnostic to BeiGene’s novel PARP inhibitor, BGB-290 (see story). BeiGene will use two of Myriad’s diagnostic tests, myChoice® HRD and BRACAnalysis CDx®, to identify patients most likely to benefit from BRB-290. In 2016, BeiGene started a dose escalation Phase Ia trial of the candidate in Australia. China and the US have also approved Phase I trials of the drug. The companies did not release further terms of the agreement.
