Chinese consortium to buy US biotech firm Ambrx
A consortium of Chinese investors including Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, Hopu Investments, CEL Healthcare Fund and WuXi PharmaTech will acquire Ambrx, a US-based biotech pharmaceutical developer.
The transaction will close in the second quarter of 2015, according to a statement, pending regulatory approval. Financial details have not been disclosed.
Consortium members plan to help Ambrx introduce its products into the China market, while also establishing a research presence in the country. WuXi chairman and CEO Ge Li also said his company plans to "broadly access Ambrx's best-in-class ADC platform and biologics development capabilities to better serve our global customers."
Ambrx develops its own drugs and also collaborates with industry leaders such as Merck and Eli Lilly. Its most advanced internally developed product, a breast cancer medication, is expected to go to clinical trials later this year. A diabetes medication developed with Bristol-Myers Squibb is currently undergoing clinical trials in the US.
Fosun has partnered with private equity investors for takeovers before. Last year it worked with TPG Capital on the $461 million privatization of Chinese healthcare provider Chindex International. One of the companies involved in this deal, WuXi, is itself currently considering a privatization bid from Li and Ally Bridge Group Capital Partners.
CEL Healthcare Fund was formed by CEL Venture Capital, the investment arm of China Everbright, earlier this year. It primiarly invests in China's healthcare industry. Hopu mostly invests in Chinese companies; last year it participated in a $1.1 billion round for Xiaomi. It also has a number of holdings outside the country, including Australia's Paladin Energy and US-based Chesapeake Energy.
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