China's I-Bridge Capital launches Israel pharma JV

According to a statement, each partner will provide $1 million of seed capital to the JV, known as iPharma. The newly formed company will seek to develop and license medical technologies originating primarily in Israel with an emphasis on commercializing therapies that are of particular interest to China.

After a strategic threshold of in-licensed projects is accumulated, iPharma intends to raise additional capital from Chinese investors to accelerate development. The first project is expected to be realized within the next few months, with focus areas to include chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and respiratory conditions.

"The market in China is large and fast-growing, but it lacks innovative therapeutic assets and capabilities which address the increasing demands of our rapidly aging population," said Jimmy Wei, managing partner at I-Bridge. "BioLineRx, with its well established relationships with leading academic institutions and biomedical companies in Israel, as well as its proven project screening process, is an ideal long-term partner for us."

The JV represents the latest development in the increasingly active area of Sino-Israeli venture alliances. Recent moves on this front also include the launch of a $300 million technology fund by China's Kuang-Chi that will be managed by Israel-based Indigo Global. This came shortly after China Everbright and Israel's Catalyst Private Equity raised $200 million for the Catalyst CEL Fund, which targets international companies expanding into the Greater China market.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Early-stage
• China
• MENA
• Joint Venture
• Pharmaceuticals