Shanghai Fosun Pharma (HK: 02196: SHA: 600196) announced it will seek a Hong Kong IPO for Shanghai Henlius Biotech, its monoclonal antibody JV subsidiary (see story). At the same time, the company will withdraw its application for a listing on China’s Third Board, the National Equities Exchange and Quotations System. Founded in 2010, Henlius is a joint venture between Fosun Pharma and US-based Henlius; Fosun owns 60% of the JV. The company was established to develop mAb biosimilar drugs, bio-betters and novel mAbs.
GO Therapeutics of Cambridge, Mass. signed a $195 million licensing deal with Roche (SWX: ROG) to develop antibodies for cancer (see story). One year ago, Shenzhen Salubris (SHZ: 2294) made a $5 million investment in GO, acquiring China rights to GO’s future products as part of the deal. GO uses advances in glycobiology to develop cancer drugs that it hopes will prove to be more potent and less toxic. The pre-clinical company develops cancer-specific antibodies that can be used as antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific T-cell engagers and immune-based cell therapies.
Aohua Endoscopy Co., a Shanghai endoscopy device maker, raised $44 million in a D round led by Lyfe Capital, a Shanghai healthcare-focused PE firm, and joined by existing investors Legend and Qiming (see story). The company said the capital will be used to develop a new generation of endoscopic systems and build a global service network. Founded in 1994, Aohua’s sales network reaches more than 80 countries in the world.
HiFiBiO Therapeutics, a US-France-China biopharma, will collaborate with Kite Pharma, a division of Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD), to develop technology that supports the discovery of neoantigen-reactive T cell receptors (TCRs) to treat various cancers (see story). Kite will pay HiFiBiO $10 million upfront, plus unspecified milestones. In addition, Kite will have an exclusive option to license HiFiBiO’s platform to screen T cell repertoires and to identify useful TCRs. HiFiBiO has facilities in Cambridge, Mass., Paris and Hangzhou.
