WuXi Healthcare closes second Sino-US VC fund at $290m
WuXi Healthcare Ventures, a corporate venture arm owned by China-based WuXi PharmaTech, has closed its second early-stage healthcare fund at $290 million, exceeding the target of $200 million.
The Wuxi Healthcare Ventures Fund II was launched earlier this year with an anchor commitment of up to $50 million. The investment strategy for Fund II is largely consistent with that of its predecessor, focusing on cross-border opportunities in life science sector across China and the US.
The firm launched its debut fund in 2011 and it invested in companies such as as Juno Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Foundation Medicine, Callidus Biopharma (acquired by Amicus Therapeutics), Novira Therapeutics, Twist Biosciences, Hua Medicine, and Adagene. Several previous investments were made alongside Ally Bridge Group, a healthcare-focused GP that pursues a similar strategy to WuXi Healthcare Venture.
With offices in Boston and Shanghai, WuXi Healthcare now has more than $350 million in assets under management.
"China and the US are the two largest and most dynamic healthcare markets in the world and countries where our firm has deep investment expertise and experience. The cross-border nature of our investment strategy and our appetite for early-stage innovation and entrepreneurship have aligned us well with the macro-trends in both countries," Wei Li, managing partner of Wuxi Healthcare, said in a statement.
Wuxi PharmaTech - also known as WuXi AppTec - was set up in 2000. It provides contract R&D services to the global pharmaceutical sector. The company went public in the US in 2007.
A few days ago, the company announced it had completed a privatization supported by the management and several PE investors, including Ally Bridge, Boyu Capital, Temasek Holdings, Hillhouse Capital, Ping An Insurance, Yunfeng Capital, Sequoia Capital, Legend Capital and an investment entity connected to Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.
The deal valued the company at approximately $3.3 billion, making it the second-largest private equity-supported privatization of a US-listed Chinese company, after Focus Media and ahead of Giant Interactive.
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