Chinese drug developer Everest secures $310m Series C

The first tranche of $50 million was announced in March. It came from Jiashan SDIC as part of a broader strategic partnership with Jiashan National Economic & Technological Development Zone.

The $260 million extension was co-led by Janchor Partners, RA Capital Management, and Hillhouse Capital. Additional commitments came from new investors including Decheng Capital, GT Fund, Janus Henderson Investors, Rock Springs Capital, and Octagon Investments. Existing backers CBC Group, Cormorant Asset Management, Temasek Holdings-owned Pavilion Capital, and HBM Healthcare Investments re-upped.

The proceeds will go towards advancing clinical development and commercialization of Everest's drug candidates.

Everest was established in 2017 by CBC. It focuses on in-licensing treatments for the Greater China and Asia markets across oncology, immunology, and heart and kidney diseases. The private equity firm seconded four managing directors to Everest and has invested $170 million in the company over the past two years. A further $70 million came from external investors. Everest collaborated with I-Mab Biopharma - another CBC portfolio company - when evaluating its first in-licensing drug candidate.   

Everest's pipeline includes Trodelvy, an antibody-drug approved in the US for certain breast cancer patients. The company won approval in April to start clinical trials in China. Meanwhile, Xerava - an approved treatment in the US and EU for intra-abdominal infections - has received the green light from Singapore regulators and is in phase-three trials in China.

Overall, Everest has built a portfolio of eight molecules. Four are currently in clinical trials designed for registration in China and two more are due to begin trials this year.

“We are proud of what Everest has achieved in such a short period since its inception in late 2017,” said Wei Fu, chairman of Everest and CEO of CBC, in a statement. “The strong network of investors validates Everest Medicines’ early achievements, as well as their confidence in Everest’s potential to grow into a leading innovative drug platform company in the region.”

Incubating biopharma companies and in-licensing molecules from overseas for development into drugs that target China and the wider Asian region is a key strategy for CBC. It is intended to remove uncertainties in the drug development process. Other initiatives in this area include biosimilars specialist AffaMed Therapeutics and I-Mab Biopharma, which listed in the US this year.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Healthcare
• Pharmaceuticals
• China
• CBC Group
• Hillhouse Capital Management