CPE, Mirae lead $100m Series B for China's JW Therapeutics
JW Therapeutics, a China cancer treatment specialist established by Bristol Myers Squibb-owned Juno Therapeutics and China’s WuXi AppTec, has received $100 million in Series B funding.
The round was led by CPE – formerly CITIC Private Equity – and Mirae Asset. Additional commitments came from Oriza Holdings and CR-CP Life Science Fund, a $300 million life sciences vehicle established by China Resources Group and Charoen Pokphand Group of Thailand. Several existing investors re-upped, including Loyal Valley Capital, Temasek Holdings, Sequoia Capital China, and Arch Venture Partners, as well as Juno and WuXi AppTec.
JW was established in 2016 with a view to leveraging Juno’s expertise in cell therapy technologies and WuXi AppTec’s capabilities as China’s largest provider of contract drug development and manufacturing services. Its goal is to deliver cutting-edge cancer treatments that meet the needs of Chinese patients. In 2018, the company opened an R&D center in Shanghai and agreed to locate a manufacturing facility in Suzhou.
JW targets the so-called fifth pillar of cancer treatment: immunotherapy. The proceeds of the latest round will go towards advancing the development of a CAR T-cell therapy, which engineers immune cells to fight blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. The drug – which specifically targets the CD19 antigen, one of the most common proteins in white blood cells – is currently in stage-two clinical trials in China. JW also plans to further build out its pipeline of treatments.
The company has now raised $200 million in funding to date, according to a statement. This includes a $90 million Series A round in 2018 led by Temasek, Sequoia, and Yuan Ming Capital. Oriza, Yipu Capital, and AVICT Holdings also participated alongside Juno and WuXi AppTec.
Biotech is currently one of the more robust areas for private equity and venture capital investment in China. Around $850 million has been committed across 30 deals so far this year, compared to $2.1 billion across about 80 transactions for the full 12 months of 2019.
Other PE-backed Chinese drug developers working on immunotherapy treatments include Elpiscience and HiFiBiO Therapeutics, while a third, Akeso Biopharma, listed in Hong Kong in April. Loyal Valley is also an investor in Akeso, while Sequoia is among HiFiBio's backers.
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