SDIC Fund leads $40m Series B for Chinese drug developer
Suzhou Ribo Life Science, a Chinese drug developer that focuses on liver diseases, has raised a RMB270 million ($40 million) Series B round led by SDIC Fund Management.
Other new investors include China Resources, Zhenghe Yuantong Capital and TusPark Ventures. Existing investors Legend Capital, GGV Capital and Fortune United Partners have also re-upped, according to a statement.
Founded in 2007, Ribo focuses on developing drugs based on RNA interference (RNAi) technology, a natural mechanism for regulating gene expression. The treatments are intended for serious liver diseases or liver cancer treatments.
In 2012, the company formed a joint venture with US-based Quark Pharmaceuticals to strengthen its R&D capabilities on RNAi pharmaceuticals. Two years later, the JV – Kunshan RiboQuark Pharmaceutical Technology – raised a RMB45 million round led by China-focused life sciences investor BVCF. The JV’s lead product, QPI-1007, an eye drug designed to treat angle closure glaucoma as well as loss of vision arising from optic nerve damage, won approval from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) to be used in humans for clinical studies.
In 2015, Suzhou Ribo previously raised a RMB125 million Series A round led by Legend Capital, with participation from GGV Capital, Legend Star and Fortune United Partners.
Estbalished in 2009, SDIC Fund Management manages and advises more than RMB50 billion ($7.2 billion) of capital for a wide range of investors, including State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC), National Social Security Fund (NSSF), financial institutions, state-owned enterprises and private-held corporates. Last year, the GP led a $260 million Series D round of funding for domestic biopharmaceutical company Innovent Biologics, as well as a RMB500 million round for China’s cancer drug developer Ascentage Pharma Group.
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