Lee's Pharmaceutical spin-out gets $145m Series B
Hong Kong-based Zhaoke Ophthalmology Pharmaceutical (ZKO), a subsidiary of Lee’s Pharmaceutical, has raised a $145 million Series B round led by Hillhouse Capital and TPG Asia.
Loyal Valley Capital, Aier Eye Hospital, and OrbiMed Group also joined the round. It reduces Lee’s Pharmaceutical’s stake from 48.5% to 34.1%. Hillhouse and TPG will each own 7.44%, while Loyal Valley will have 4.04%. Aier Eye Hospital and OrbiMed respectively own 2.98% and 2.66%, according to a filing.
ZKO is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Ophthalmology Focus (COPFL), which licenses global ophthalmology products in China and raised a $50 million Series A in 2019 from Coyote Investment, Panacea Venture Healthcare Fund, Smart Rocket, and Vertex Profit International. Lee’s announced in July that it was considering a spin-off and separate listing of COPFL and its subsidiaries.
ZKO has a state-of-the-art production facility in Nansha, Guangzhou that supports in-house development and commercialisation for 21 proprietary products. The portfolio is diversified in having both small molecules and biologics, as well as both novel and generic medicines.
Focus areas include dry eye, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, corneal injuries, and inflammatory diseases. One of its lead products, an ophthalmic gel, has entered phase three clinical trials and aims to enrol 644 patients in China.
Lee's Pharmaceutical announced in May that ZKO had obtained exclusive rights to licence, develop, manufacture, and commercialize two products from IACTA Pharmaceuticals, a US ophthalmology drug developer active in China and Southeast Asia. The two drugs are in phase two development in the US targeting dry eye.
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