Qiming leads $37m round for China's Alpha Biopharma

Other backers included Chinese healthcare-focused VCs Lyzz Capital and TF Capital. The investment represents the first close of a round targeting $65 million.

The fresh capital will be used to progress phase-two clinical studies for a lung cancer treatment known as AZD3759. It follows a phase-one study in which the product demonstrated promising anti-tumor effects in patients with central nervous system metastases.

Lung cancer patients with this condition commonly experience severe loss of neurologic function, poor quality of life and a shortened life expectancy. Currently, there is no approved therapy for this specific patient population.

“We have strong confidence in the potential clinical benefit of AZD3759 and its unique market position, targeting important unmet medical need for patients,” William Hu, a managing partner at Qiming, said in a statement. “We believe AlphaBio's AZD3759 development program will serve as a great platform for the company to build upon and expect the company to pursue additional acquisitions and development of exciting new therapeutics."

Qiming manages seven US dollar funds and five renminbi funds with $4 billion assets under management. Earlier this year, it closed two China-focused VC funds and a US healthcare fund with about $1.4 billion in aggregate commitments.

The firm has backed more than 250 Chinese start-ups since 2006 across a range of sectors. Recent activity in the country’s cancer treatment segment includes participation in early-stage rounds for drug developer Antengene Corporation and screening technology specialist New Horizon Health.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Early-stage
• China
• Qiming Venture Partners
• Pharmaceuticals