UK drug developer Vectura partners PE on China JV
Vectura, a UK-based drug company, has teamed up with Hong Kong-based PE investor Zendex Bio Strategy and Tianjin KingYork Group to form a joint venture that will develop respiratory products in China and other Asian markets.
KingYork, a Chinese pharma company, and Zendex will commit RMB260 million ($42 million) to Tianjin Kinovata Pharmaceutical, taking stakes of 50% and 15%, respectively. Vecutura will invest RMB150 million and hold the remaining 35%.
The JV will develop Vectura's dry power inhaler (DPI) devices in Asia for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Kinnovata will also partner with the Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry to develop additional DPI devices.
"There is a strong appetite in China for Western branded products and Kinnovata aims to introduce high quality affordable products made locally in China using Western technology," said Kinnovata's CEO Chris Chan, who was previously an advisor to Zendex, in a statement.
Founded in 2003, Zendex specializes in introducing and investing in advanced biotechnologies, with $50 million in assets under management. Since 2005, it has become the biotech advisor to Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Zendex sources pharma and biological products from Canada, the UK, US, and Germany that are suitable for China's state-level development zones and biological industrial bases.
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