Vivo raises $1.28b for China-US healthcare fund

The commitment, disclosed in a regulatory filing, has not been confirmed as a final close. However, the corresponding filing for Fund VIII in 2015 did coincide with the end of fundraising. It follows the close of a separate fund last year at $635 million for investment in public healthcare equities and brings the firm's total assets under management to more than $3 billion.

Fund IX represents a 70% increase on Fund VIII, which itself doubled the size of its predecessor. This growth has coincided with a shift toward Asia. US-based LPs accounted for 50% of the corpus of Fund VIII, while Asian investors contributed 35%. By comparison, US institutions provided about 80% of Fund VII, with 20% coming from a combination of European and Asian investors.

It extends a spate of similar fundraising activity this year focused largely or wholly on China, including Lilly Asia Ventures closing its fifth healthcare vehicle at $750 million. This compares to $450 million for Fund IV. Last month, C-Bridge Capital closed its third fund at $850 million. It was the largest ever dedicated healthcare fundraise for Asia deployment, according to AVCJ Research.

Vivo was founded in 1996 to target companies with therapeutic products at all stages of development in the US and companies at the revenue-generating stage in Greater China. The firm, which operates via bases in Silicon Valley, Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei, has backed more than 80 private and public companies to date in the areas of biopharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

Portfolio companies include Beijing Innocare, an oncology and autoimmune disease-focused biotech player that raised $160 million in January, and Tot Biopharm, a cancer drug developer that filed for a Hong Kong IPO in May. Companies at earlier stages are targeted via a VC fund known as Panda, which closed in 2016 with $100 million in commitments with substantial support from the Taiwan government.

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• Topics
• North America
• Greater China
• Fundraising
• Growth
• Healthcare
• China
• USA
• Vivo Ventures
• Pharmaceuticals