The leading funding recipient is Simcere Zaiming Pharmaceutical, an oncology-focused subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed Simcere Pharmaceutical Group. The company has closed a substantial equity financing round of RMB 970 million ($135 million) to advance its innovartive oncology therapies.
ADC-focused ProfoundBio raised $112 million in oversubscribed Series B round to push several candidates forward. The Seattle-based biotech has three clinical-stage candidates in the portfolio and has a R&D office in Suzhou, China.
There were no initial public offerings for Chinese drug developers in Feburary.
No new Chinese biotech M&A deal announced the month. AstraZeneca has concluded its acquisition of clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Gracell Biotechnology for $1.2 billion. The deal, initially agreed in December 2023, positions Gracell as a wholly owned AstraZeneca subsidiary with opertions continuing in the US and China.
Six licensing deals for Chinese drugmakers were disclosed, worth a total of $238 million, including $2 million in upfront payments.
In-licensing deals are two, and no financial terms have been disclosed.
Out-licensing deals are also two, and no financial terms have been disclosed.
China-based biotech Biocytogen and Gilead are entering an antibody deal to leverage the discovery and development of new antibody theraputics. The agreement gives Gilead a three-year nomination period to choose its targets of interest and assess the selected antibodies, with the option of acquiring selected antibodies for worldwide therapeutic development.
The notable drug approvals in China are as below.
