Tianjin Tasly Pharma (SHA: 600535) is in talks to IPO its biopharma division in Hong Kong later this year with the goal of raising $1 billion (see story). If it happens, the IPO will probably be Hong Kong’s largest biopharma IPO this year. Tasly, known for its TCM offerings, has been actively using M&A to expand into biologics. It has also invested in C-Bridge Capital’s funds and sometimes adds, independently, to C-Bridge deals. One year ago, C-Bridge and Tasly joined to invest $150 million in two China biotechs, merging them as part of the transaction.
Hua Medicine of Shanghai is planning a $400 million IPO in Hong Kong to fund the company’s diabetes drug, dorzagliatin, a novel oral diabetes 2 treatment (see story). In January of this year, Hua’s founder and CEO, Chen Li, said Hua would need $200 million over the next three years to complete development and commercialize the drug. Hua expects to be approved to market dorzagliatin in China during 2020. Like several other biopharmas, Hua will take advantage of new Hong Kong Exchange rules that allow not-yet-profitable biopharmas to list on the exchange.
JW Therapeutics of Shanghai closed an impressive $90 million Series A financing with the goal of bringing best-in-class immunotherapies toChina (see story). JW is a joint venture formed by Seattle’s Juno Therapeutics, an important cell therapy biotech, and WuXi AppTec, the China CRO/CMO. The JV will combine Juno’s CAR-T therapies withWuXi’s China development and manufacturing expertise. Along with the financing, JW reported the CFDA has accepted its IND submission for JWCAR029, a CD19 CAR-T therapy that will be tested in B-cell malignancies.
23Mofang of Chengdu raised $15.8 million in venture financing in a round led by Matrix Partners China, a joint venture fund formed by Matrix Partners of the US and China partners (see story). Founded in 2015, 23Mofang provides saliva-based genetic testing for individuals, with six separate testing services including health risks, rare genetic diseases and drug reactions. It claims to have completed 150,000 tests so far. Maximum cost for the 23Mofang test is $158. Its biochip, which was co-developed with Thermo Fisher Scientific, tests for as many as 300 medical conditions.
