China CRO Tripod raises $156m

Other investors include IDG Capital, L Squared Private Management, Guofang FoF, Huatai Zijin Investment, Shanghai Lingang life Blue Bay Private investment fund, Nanjing Innovation Investment Group, Qiming Venture Partners, 3H Health Investment, Xiaochi Capital, YuanBio Venture Capital, and Loyal Valley Capital.

Founded in 2008, Tripod focuses on pre-clinical evaluation and research for global biomedicine and medical devices. It also provides registration services of drugs and medical devices in China, North America, Australia, and several European countries.

The new capital will enhance R&D services and strengthen the animal testing supply chain. While focusing on the pre-clinical evaluation of drugs, Tripod will explore the non-clinical space, as well as the transformation from pre-clinical towards clinical-stage, achieving a one-stop integrated service.

WuXi AppTec is the runaway leader in China’s pharmaceutical R&D outsourcing space, but service offerings vary across the industry. An increasing number of players have sought to become more integrated, combining CRO and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) functions.

The industry has gained traction with the broader development of biotech in China, increasingly serving local novel drug developers targeting global markets.

Recent PE and VC investment activity includes a $50 million Series C extension for DMed-Clinipace, the product of a recent merger of China’s dMed Global and US-based Clinipace. On the CDMO side, there have been funding rounds for Zhenge Biotech, Chime Biologics, and Thousand Oaks Biopharmaceuticals.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Healthcare
• China
• Pharmaceuticals
• Lilly Asia Ventures
• Qiming Venture Partners
• Loyal Valley Capital
• GL Ventures