Goldman leads $62m Series D for China's Fountain Medical

Lilly Asia Ventures, an existing investor, also took part in the round. According to AVCJ Research’s records, previous investors in the company include DFJ Dragon Fund and Tianjin Venture Capital. The first round came not long after Fountain Medical’s inception in 2007.

The company positions itself as a one-stop-shop for biopharmaceutical developers, medical device manufacturers and consumer healthcare businesses seeking an outsourcing partner with both flexibility and scale. Its services fall into seven broad areas: data management and biostatistics; medical writing; regulatory affairs, product safety, toxicology, and pharmacovigilance; medical affairs; clinical operations; and quality compliance and risk management.

Fountain Medical employs 1,700 people globally and has delivery centers in China, the US, Europe, Japan, India, and the Philippines. There is also a clinical operations team located in 55 cities across mainland China, leveraging lower costs than developed markets, a large patient population primarily located in urban areas, and a talented local workforce. The company noted that it is also seeing rising demand from domestic drug developers, which are benefiting from policy support.

“We are positive on the growth outlook of the CRO industry, especially in China. As a leading CRO in China, Fountain Medical has built an excellent platform combining international expertise with local access. The company has a global team with diverse background and deep knowhow across key functional areas, making it a one-stop-shop for clients,” Stephanie Hui, co-head of Asia Pacific at Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area, said in a statement.

WuXi AppTec is the runaway leader in China’s pharmaceutical R&D outsourcing space, but the service offerings vary across the industry. For example, an increasing number of players have sought to become more integrated, combining CRO and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) functions. A dual headquarters approach, incorporating China and the US, is not uncommon.

Recent investment activity in the space includes Advent International acquiring a majority stake in BioDuro. It is the fourth-largest operator in China’s pre-clinical CRO segment – providing discovery and development services to biopharmaceutical manufacturers – as well as offering CDMO services in the US. Meanwhile, PE-backed Frontage Holdings, a bioanalytical services provider controlled by Tigermed Group, raised HK$1.61 billion ($205.1 million) in a Hong Kong IPO in May.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Support services
• Expansion
• China
• Goldman Sachs
• Pharmaceuticals
• Lilly Asia Ventures