OrbiMed leads $19m round for Sino-US drug developer
OrbiMed Asia Partners has led a $19 million Series B round of funding for InventisBio, a pharmaceutical developer based in Shanghai with operations in China and the US.
Existing investor Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV) also participated in the round, according to a statement. The company will use the capital to accelerate development on four drug candidates for cancer and gout, three of which are expected to enter phase one clinical trials in the US and China this year. Jonathan Wang, OrbiMed’s co-founder and senior managing director, will join InventisBio’s board.
The company was founded in 2015 by Yaolin Wang, who worked as an oncology specialist at Schering-Plough from 1997-2009 and at Merck after the two companies merged until 2015. InventisBio specializes on remedies for lung and breast cancer, as well as gout. Its Series A round in May 2016 was led by LAV, with participation by Sinopharm Capital.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to build a truly innovative company together with the management team and our reputable co-investors, such as LAV," said Wang. "I believe 'Created in China, for the world' will become a major trend in our industry and InventisBio is well-positioned to become a leader in this trend."
OrbiMed claims to be the world’s largest healthcare and life sciences-dedicated investment fund, with about $14 billion in assets under management and investments in over 450 companies worldwide. The firm is currently raising its third Asia fund, which launched earlier this year with a target of $450 million. Its previous fund launched in 2013 and closed the following year at $325 million.
The GP has made a number of investments in Asia, targeting various aspects of the healthcare system mainly in China and India. Last year it partnered with Shanghai Runda Medical Technology for the take-private of Canadian clinical equipment producer Response Biomedical, while earlier this year it exited its stake in Indian hospital chain Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences to True North Managers.
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