Chinese gene therapy player raises $45m

Thousand Oaks, which has an office in California in addition to its headquarters in China, provides chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) services to the global biopharmaceutical industry, including formula production, technical support, and ancillary services. The company was founded in 2017 and raised an undisclosed amount of funding the same year from Broadview Capital and Lanwan Capital.

With the new capital, Thousand Oaks will expand its services and begin construction of its new manufacturing facility in Shanghai, which is planned to be the world’s biggest large-scale cell culture media (LSCCM) production line. The company aims to help clients through every phase of biopharmaceutical development, from initial cell line culturing to clinical research and regulatory approvals.

China’s biopharmaceutical industry has seen a considerable rise in investor interest over the last year, with PE and VC commitments more than doubling from 2017 to 2018, according to AVCJ Research. The surge in investments is credited in part to the country’s aging population, which is expected to drive demand for advanced treatments.

Recent investments include a $120 million Series B round for Antengene and a $100 million Series A round for Alphamab Oncology, both of which focus on cancer treatments. A number of developers have also filed for IPOs in Hong Kong over the last year, taking advantage of changes to Hong Kong listing rules that allow biotech companies to launch offerings in the territory despite having minimal revenue and no profit.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Early-stage
• China
• Pharmaceuticals