Qiming leads $20m Series A for China biopharma developer
Qiming Venture Partners has led a $20 million Series A round of funding for Chinese drug developer Connect Biopharmaceuticals.
The Series A round, in which Northern Light Venture Capital, Lapam Capital and Cowin Venture Capital also participated, followed a $5 million pre-Series A investment by Cowin, Anlongmed Fund, and XinYue Equity. Connect will use the new capital for upcoming clinical studies of its leading two drug candidates. William Hu, managing partner at Qiming, and Tigermed Chairman and CEO Xiaoping Ye will join Connect’s board.
Founded in 2012, Connect develops drugs that help manipulate the body’s immune system to help treat conditions such as inflammation and cancer. Currently it is focusing on its top two candidate drugs, which primarily treat autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis and allergic inflammations such as asthma. It is headquartered in Suzhou with operations in Melbourne and San Diego.
“We find Connect an ideal investment opportunity because the company has built a strong immunology drug discovery platform and has shown an exceptional ability to execute its business strategy in a highly resource-efficient manner,” said Hu in a statement. “The company’s portfolio of immune modulators are uniquely positioned to address the large unmet and rapidly growing medical needs in China and globally. We are delighted to join this exciting team to bring these innovative products to patients.”
China’s healthcare sector is a significant target of capital for Qiming, whose investments include rehabilitation services provider LIH Investment & Management and genetic test developer Berry Genomics, which announced plans last year to list in Shenzhen through a reverse merger. The firm is currently investing its fifth US dollar-denominated China VC fund, which closed last year at $648 million, and is planning a US-based fund of $100-150 million that will help Chinese and US healthcare start-ups expand in both markets.
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