ADIA, GIC lead $300m round for China's Taibang Biologic

It is the company's first funding since being delisted in the US at a USD 4.6bn valuation last year by a Centurium Capital-led consortium. Additional commitments came from the private equity arm of China Life and Cinda Kunpeng, an investment manager with ties to China Cinda Asset Management.

The proceeds will be used to optimise China Biologic's capital structure and strengthen its foothold in the domestic market through plasma collection station expansion and new product R&D, according to a statement.

Founded in 2002, Taibang focuses on human plasma-based biopharmaceutical products, a highly regulated area in China. With strict limits on imports and exports, companies operating in the space are entirely domestic - sourcing from local suppliers and selling to local customers.

This domestic focus was the main reason why Taibang was open to leaving the US markets through a PE-backed take-private. Centurium is now looking into listing the company locally.

Centurium has executed several reforms post-privatization. Taibang previously had two major subsidiaries in Shandong and Guizhou that operated independently of each other. They are now under a unified management structure.

Meanwhile, IT systems are being introduced to track all activity at plasma collection stations, replacing cash-based and poorly documented transactions.

More broadly, a portfolio rebalancing is taking place. Human albumin, used in standard infusions to increase blood flow, was the largest revenue contributor in 2020. However, the main revenue growth drivers were intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), a form of blood plasma full of antibodies for fighting disease, and coagulation products, which address bleeding disorders.

Zhixing Chen, a managing director at Centurium, told AVCJ in a previous interview that Taibang's blood plasma collection volume reached 1,450 tons in 2020, up 30% year-on-year. Meanwhile, its operating profit margin in the first three quarters of 2021 improved by three percentage points on the same period in 2020.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Expansion
• China
• Pharmaceuticals
• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)
• GIC Private
• China Life
• Centurium Capital