Deal focus: C -Bridge brings more co-investment to Ascletis

C-Bridge Capital closed its debut China healthcare-focused fund at $200 million in November 2014. Just over a year later, the vehicle was 90% deployed, with LPs committing a further $100 million in co-investment across the eight portfolio companies.

The deals included a Series A round worth $55 million for Ascletis, a biotechnology player that specializes in treatments for liver disease. Goldman Sachs contributed $20 million to that round, but it was led by C-Bridge, which put in $35 million together with two of its LPs, Tasly Pharmaceutical and Pavilion Capital, a unit of Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

Last week Ascletis completed its Series B round, with $100 million in commitments. While Goldman re-upped, most of the capital came from C-Bridge and LPs in its second fund, which is said to be on course for a final close of $400 million later this year. The co-investor roster features Shenzhen-based Qianhai FoF, a foundation affiliated to outdoor advertising business Focus Media, WTT Investment, and Tasly.

Ascletis' current focus is chronic hepatitis C, for which it is developing two direct-acting antiviral agents, Danoprevir and Ravidasvir, licensed from Roche and Presidio Pharmaceuticals, respectively. Danoprevir was recently accepted by the China Food & Drug Administration, while Ravidasvir has been given priority review designation by the agency.

"When we first invested in the third quarter of 2014, I was confident the drug would be approved -anyone who understood the product knew it would be approved. We thought it would be a three-year process, but it has turned out to be one-and-a-half years," says Wei Fu, CEO of C-Bridge.

The company will use the proceeds from the latest round to expand its coverage into other liver disease areas such as chronic hepatitis B, once again by licensing intellectual property from international pharmaceutical players in order to shorten the journey to monetization.

C-Bridge concentrates on late-stage growth capital and buyout opportunities, with 50% of its capital in pharmaceuticals, 30% in medical devices and 20% in services. Speedy turnaround times are a characteristic of its investments.

Another feature of the portfolio is the founders' big pharma credentials. Ascletis founder Jinzi Wu previously worked at GlaxoSmithKline and his counterparts at Berry Genomics and Innovent Biologics - also a C-Bridge investment - have similar resumes. Fu expects more overseas-trained professionals to return home and establish companies that leverage rising consumer spending on healthcare in China.

"These companies are licensing drugs from the US but you need sophisticated professionals to execute this strategy," he says. "There is a group of overseas returnees that went to study abroad in the late 1980s and early 1990s, spent 10 years getting their PhDs and 10-15 years becoming senior executives. Now they are ready to start their own businesses."

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Early-stage
• China
• C-Bridge Capital
• Pharmaceuticals
• Growth capital