Sequoia, Matrix back $200m Series A for China’s D3 Bio
D3 Bio, a Chinese drug developer that studies and specifically targets areas where existing approaches to care are not delivering satisfactory outcomes, has raised $200 million in Series A funding.
The round featured Boyu Capital, Matrix Partners China, Sequoia Capital China, Temasek Holdings, and the corporate venture fund of local pharmaceutical services outsourcing player WuXi AppTec. According to a filing, WuXi Fund I will pay $21 million for a 16.67% stake in D3. An additional $39 million will come from three other WuXi AppTec-controlled entities, taking the company’s overall direct and indirect exposure to 29.6%.
Boyu and Temasek have each contributed $50 million for positions of 15.88%. Sequoia and Matrix’s commitments are $30 million and $10 million, respectively.
D3 Bio was established by George Chen, a trained oncologist who has worked for the likes of Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca. He has previously played a role in the launch of more than 70 investigational new drugs (IND) and 30 new drug application (NDA) approvals.
The company focuses on oncology and immunology treatments. It claims to take a unique approach to drug development, using the clinical landscape as a starting point and identifying unmet patient needs before moving into the lab. By building a clear understanding of relevant cancer biomarkers and therapeutic improvement or replacement goals during preclinical development, D3 hopes to make the discovery and development process more efficient and focused.
D3 has yet to establish a drug pipeline. “The financing and support of our approach by reputable institutional investors give us a great start as we begin our journey to transform drug development to accomplish our mission,” Chen said in a statement.
Yanling Cao, a partner at Boyu, added: “We believe that a tremendous amount of medical innovation will be created by D3 Bio coupling China’s talent pool with the global R&D ecosystem. We share D3 Bio’s vision of developing innovative drugs by integrating deep clinical insights with creative science and technology.”
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