Burrill, a US merchant bank for life sciences, has created a joint venture with Israel and China-based Infinity Group to set up healthcare venture capital funds and separately made two hires for the creation of its Alternative Equities Group.
Burrill and Infinity will co-invest as equal partners in US dollar and RMB investments in China.
Burrill will move its China headquarters to Hong Kong alongside Infinity, which manages 11 funds, nine in China covering 10 cities, with commitments of more than $1bn.
For its Alternative Equities Group, Burrill has hired Peter Fry as managing director and head of alternative equities, and Jack Suggs as a director.
Previously, Fry was senior investment officer at Kingsbridge Capital and was responsible for 35 so-called committed equity financing facilities worth more than $1.75bn.
Suggs has more than 12 years of healthcare investing and investment banking experience most recently managing a proprietary long/short life sciences equity and equity options portfolio at investment bank Merrill Lynch.
Alongside adviser Mary Ann Gray, both Fry and Suggs will be based in Philadelphia before a New York office opens next year.
Steven Burrill, chief executive of his eponymous merchant bank, said: "For life sciences companies, accessing capital has become increasingly complex and challenging.
"The creation of an Alternative Equities Group addresses our goal of becoming the leading single-source provider of a broad and complementary range of strategic advisory services and creative financing products, as a principal and/or agent."
Fry said: "With our committed equity line of credit, Burrill will commit principal capital to select healthcare and life sciences companies that can be drawn down at management’s discretion."
However, other investment banks have been spinning off their venture capital operations. Piper Jaffray said next month it would spin off its $700m fund of private capital funds business, to be renamed North Sky Capital and led by Scott Barrington.