Vivo, Novo back Singapore's Esco Lifesciences
Vivo Capital and Novo Holdings have led a $200 million Series A round for Esco Lifesciences, a Singapore-based manufacturer of biopharma lab equipment and medical devices.
China Investment Corporation and EDBI also participated. It is being touted as the largest private funding round for an Asia-based life sciences tools company.
Esco was founded in 1978 as a manufacturer of cleanroom equipment for electronics companies and counted Siemens as an early client. It quickly transitioned to medical industry technologies as operations expanded into Malaysia and Indonesia.
In the early 2000s, the company narrowed its focus to life sciences, biotech, and biological safety equipment. Business has been robust during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has positioned the company for a new expansion and M&A phase prioritizing China. The latest funding will be used to establish a cell and gene therapies technology R&D center in the US according to a statement.
Esco describes itself as a bridge for technology ecosystems in the East and West and claims market leadership in China. Globally, operations include direct sales and service offices in about 20 countries, with manufacturing and R&D capacities across Singapore, China, Indonesia, the US, and UK. There is a broader sales network that spans around 100 countries and a global staff of more than 1,300.
Since 2011, Esco has been headed by CEO XiangQian Lin, a serial life sciences entrepreneur and investor. In 2014, Lin set up Esco Ventures, which claimed a portfolio-wide IRR of 45% as of 2018. In 2018, he set up Esco Ventures X, also known as EVX Ventures, which aims to connect the biotech start-up ecosystems of the US, China, and Singapore. Lin is also the founding CEO of Carmine Therapeutics, a genetic medicines player incubated by EVX.
Silicon Valley-based Vivo targets therapeutics companies at all stages of development in the US and companies at the revenue-generating stage in Greater China. The firm, which also has bases in Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei, has $5.8 billion in assets under management. It raised $1.3 billion for its ninth private equity fund in 2019 and has invested more than 290 companies globally to date.
Denmark-based Novo established its Asia presence with the opening of a Singapore office in January this year. The life sciences-focused investor described the Esco deal as a “very important milestone” in advancing its broader regional ambitions. The firm was active in Singapore earlier this month, taking the lead in a $125 million round for drug developer Hummingbird Bioscience.
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