China’s biopharmaceutical sector is seeing an uptick in deal-making, with sovereign wealth funds from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates joining Chinese state-backed investors to back next-generation drug developers.
Shanghai-based Everest Medicines agreed to spend US$250 million to acquire a Singapore company holding rights to 14 chronic-disease treatments across the Asia-Pacific region, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.
Its Singapore unit will acquire 100 per cent of Hasten Biopharmaceuticals and assume a US$148.8 million shareholder loan from the target’s parent. An independent valuation placed Hasten’s equity value at about US$320 million as of March 31, implying Everest is buying the business at a roughly 22 per cent discount.
Hasten brings a 120-strong team focused on cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. Everest said the acquisition would support the expansion of its commercialised drugs beyond mainland China.
The deal comes amid a broader influx of global capital into Chinese biotech.
Cross-border out-licensing by Chinese drugmakers reached a record US$60 billion in the first three months of the year, driven by rising demand from multinational pharmaceutical companies for early-stage assets, according to the National Medical Products Administration.
One indicator of that shift is Syneron Bio, an emerging biotech firm developing macrocyclic peptide drugs using an artificial intelligence-driven discovery platform. The company raised US$150 million in a series B round on March 31, it said in a statement.
