C-Bridge leads $20m round for China's Nuance
C-Bridge Capital, a Chinese healthcare-focused private equity firm, has led a $20 million Series B funding round for domestic pharmaceuticals developer Nuance Biotech.
The investment will be supported by a separate $15 million commitment from C-Bridge to commercialize new products under a partnership between Nuance and US-based Pacira Pharmaceuticals. Last week, the two companies entered into an agreement facilitated by C-Bridge to develop a post-surgery pain control drug.
“This investment represents a unique funding model for building a best-in-class pharmaceutical business in China,” Fu Wei, CEO of C-Bridge, said in a statement. “Nuance’s proven ability to move products through registration to the market along with its large sales organization and robust sales effectiveness system make it an excellent partner for commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products in China.”
Nuance focuses on China’s surgical medicine segment and claims a portfolio including a number of products already commercialized or in registration with the China Food & Drug Administration, as well as a pipeline of candidates in clinical development. The company received an $8 million Series A last year with participation from Matrix Partners China.
C-Bridge invests primarily in growth and late-stage companies and claims $1.5 billion in assets under management. The firm closed its second fund last year at $400 million and has subsequently expanded its deal targeting scope via a $100 million early-stage affiliate known as I-Bridge Capital.
Recent investment activity includes a contribution to the $402 million privatization of US-listed Chinese biopharmaceutical player Sinovac Biotech and a $150 million investment alongside traditional Chinese medicine company Tasly Holding in a drug developer created through the merger of Shanghai-based Third Venture Biopharma and Tianjin-based Tianshizhen Biotechnology.
Earlier this year, C-Bridge-backed drug developer Ascletis filed for an IPO in Hong Kong that is expected to precipitate the first listing in the territory under new rules that allow biotech start-ups with no revenue or profit to go public.
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