Deals and Financings

Following its $1.8 billion IPO, China Resources Pharmaceutical Group (HK: 3320) began trading on the Hong Kong exchange (see story). In the first trading session, the stock dropped about 1% to HK$9.01 from its offering price of HK$9.10, the middle of the offering range. CR Pharma priced its IPO at a modest 14.5 times earnings. The company is part of the larger state-owned China Resources conglomerate, and it, in turn, is parent to three China-listed pharmas. CR Pharma is China’s second-largest drugmaker, with extensive holdings in drug manufacturing (both western and TCM) plus its large China drug distribution operation. 

WuXi PharmaTech, the China-US CRO/CMO, participated in the $116 million Series B funding of Unity Biotechnology (see story). Unity, a San Francisco biotech, is developing therapies that eliminate senescent cells from the body. The company has identified molecules that target aging diseases such as osteoarthritis, glaucoma and atherosclerosis. Unity is 18 months away from a Phase I trial that tests a candidate for treatment of arthritis of the knee. According to BioCentury, Unity’s Series B is the 12th-largest it has seen in 22 years. 

Guangdong Kanghua Healthcare is on track to complete a $154 million IPO in Hong Kong in early November (see story). The company owns two private hospitals in Dongguan, a city in China’s southern Guangdong province, with a total of 2,486 registered beds. Currently, a regional hospital operator, Kanghua must expand geographically to grow. It will devote 35% of the IPO’s proceeds to buying other China hospitals. Ultimately, it plans to own 30 hospitals with 15,000 beds, according to the company’s chairman, Junyang Wang. 

Pluristem Therapeutics (NSDQ/Tel Aviv: PSTI), an Israeli regenerative medicine company, signed a term sheet for a $30 million investment from China’s Innovative Medical Management (SHZ: 002173) (see story). Pluristem develops placental cells using a proprietary, three-dimensional bioreactor to expand cells. The company plans to start a Phase III trial of its PLX-PAD cells for critical limb ischemia in Japan and Europe next year. Innovative Medical, which is active in life science, owns three large hospitals in China along with other life science investments. 

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