China’s BeiGene raises $97m from PE investors
BeiGene, a Chinese company that develops drugs to combat cancer, has raised RMB600 million ($97 million) in a funding round led by existing investors Hillhouse Capital and an undisclosed US-based life sciences-focused public investment fund.
Other investors include CITIC Private Equity (CITIC PE), Fidelity Management & Research Company, T.Rowe Price & Associates, Rock Springs Capital and Boxer Capital of Tavistock Life Sciences.
Headquartered in Beijing, BeiGene has a team of 170 scientists and staff focused on oncology. The company currently has three small molecule inhibitors in clinical development. The new funding will be used to support the continued development of its oncology drug candidates, expand its global clinical development team, and strengthen its drug product manufacturing.
In November, Hillhouse and CITIC PE participated in $75 million round of funding for BeiGene.
"China is increasingly involved in research and development of global new drugs with its cost advantage and sufficient educated human resources. Beigene demonstrates a unique combination of world-class drug discover capability and China R&D platform," Tang Ke, vice president in CITIC PE, said in a statement.
Established in 2008, CITIC PE is a strategic onshore PE arm of CITIC Group and CITIC Securities. The firm recently closed its second US dollar-denominated China fund with just under $1.3 billion in commitments. It also operates three renminbi funds.
Hillhouse Capital was founded by Lei Zhang in 2005 and received seed funding from the Yale University endowment. Earlier this year, Hillhouse was said to have raised a $2 billion fund, which took the PE firm's assets under management to approximately $18 billion. Hill House focuses on investments in the consumer, healthcare, internet and industrial sectors.
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