BVCF leads $7.5m Series A for Quark Pharma China JV
China-focused life sciences and healthcare investor BVCF has led a RMB45 million ($7.5 million) Series A round of funding for Kunshan RiboQuark Pharmaceutical Technology, a joint venture established by Quark Pharmaceuticals and Suzhou Ribo Life Science.
Other investors included SBI Incubation - a subsidiary of Japan's SBI Group - the Kunshan Industrial Technology Research Institute Investment company and Kunshan Hongtu Hi-tech Venture Capital Management.
According to a release, the extra capital will be used to accelerate the clinical development of RiboQuark's lead product, QPI-1007, an eye drug designed to treat angle closure glaucoma as well as loss of vision arising from optic nerve damage. Both are prevalent in Asia.
Dr. Daniel Zurr, president and CEO of Quark, noted that as many as 28 million people in China have a genetic predisposition for angle closure glaucoma, with 9-10 million people suffering from the disease.
QPI-1007 has been licensed from Quark Pharmaceuticals to sell in China and several other countries.
The capital will also allow RiboQuark to continue developing its pipeline of drugs for treating a wide range of conditions such as including cancer, hepatitis and lung injury. The company is also developing a cosmetic product for the prevention of hair loss as a result of chemotherapy and radiation.
BVCF was set up in 2005 under its previous name, Bio Veda China, by Dr. Zhi Yang. The firm is headquartered in Shanghai and its team includes partners with an academic background and extensive operational experience. BVCF focuses on investments in China with an enterprise value of $50-100 million.
The firm is currently raising its third fund, the $200 million BVCF III. International Financial Corp.(IFC) has already pledged $20 million to the fund. In August , BVC led a $25 million Series B round for MicuRX Paharmaceuticals, a biopaharma firm developing next generation antibiotics.
Other companies backed by BVCF include CITIC Pharmaceuticals, Ealong Biotech, Allegens Medical Science and Technology, Novast laboratories, Sinobiopharma, Cathay Industrial Biotech, Biocytogen, Nexchem, Napo Pharmaceuticals, NOD Pharmaceuticals and Yashentech.
More on Healthcare
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.