Deal focus: Just delivers on cross-border promise

Amgen has manufacturing facilities all over the world, each of which costs $300-500 million to build. Over the past 20 years, the multinational biopharmaceutical player’s headcount has grown from 3,000 to nearly 20,000, with key departments such R&D, product processing and analytics spreading across different buildings and different cities. Expansion has made this infrastructure a burden as poor internal communication sows inefficiencies into drug development.

Just Biotherapeutics – which was founded in Seattle in 2014 by former scientists at Amgen – wants to deliver the efficiencies, and lower costs, that Amgen cannot. The new age drug developer has received backing from the likes of Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV), Arch Ventures, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Just Biotherapeutics set up a China joint venture in Hangzhou two years ago. It serves as a manufacturing center for the US technology platform – focusing on phase one antibody and protein therapeutics – as well as developing new drugs for the local market. The China affiliate recently completed a $57 million Series B round led by Temasek Holdings, with participation from LAV and Arch, which together provided $12 million in Series A funding last year. Taikang Insurance Group also put in equity, while Hangzhou Economic & Technological Development Area, Bank of China and Bank of Hangzhou contributed equity and debt financing.

“Technology is evolving rapidly. What we are doing right now is one step ahead of global pharmaceutical companies,” says Jonathan Zhao, CEO at Just China and a venture partner at LAV, who previously led Asia strategy for Amgen and Pfizer. “We have learnt that a multinational company sometimes is limited by the technology it has created. That gives us an opportunity to leapfrog them. For example, we host all the departments on just one floor covering 4,000 square meters. It’s much more efficient.”

The loans will be used to build a global standard manufacturing facility – which is set to start operations early next year – and the equity will go towards technology innovation. Just China has about eight assets in pre-clinical stages that are scheduled to go into clinical trials next year.

Just China isn’t Zhao’s first start-up. He previously co-founded Veritas Genetics in the US and China simultaneously and received seed funding from LAV. He is one of two entrepreneurs-turned-venture partners at LAV who have launched businesses under the firm’s incubation program, which began in 2015.

“A lot of people say that they like to do cross-border deals, such as licensing overseas technology or acquisition of the US assets. But Just US and Just China are probably the most optimal example of cross-border in terms of the deal structuring. They are sister companies that both have unique strengths and they complement each other, and LAV has invested in both sides,” says Judith Li, a partner at LAV.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Expansion
• China
• Pharmaceuticals
• Lilly Asia Ventures
• Arch Capital