Lilly Asia Ventures, an investment vehicle for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, has co-led a $50m series A round for China-based ophthalmic therapy developer Eluminex Biosciences.
The round was co-led with GL Ventures, the venture capital fund overseen by hedge fund manager Hillhouse Capital, and VC firm Quan Capital.
Founded in February this year, Eluminex is working on drug treatments for diseases that threaten patient’s eyesight with urgent unmet need.
The startup has established a head office and research and development centre in China and is in the process of setting up an international clinical and registration hub in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Eluminex’s co-Founder, chairman, and CEO, Jinzhong Zhang, said: “We greatly appreciate the profound level of support and trust from three global investors. With these proceeds, our goal is to build an innovative pipeline addressing critical unmet medical needs in vision-threatening diseases for patients worldwide.”
Lilly Asia Ventures partner Stephen Lin added: “Driven by an aging population and overuse of eyes in various ages, the ophthalmic market is seeing huge unmet needs for new products.
“The team’s solid track record and rich experience in ophthalmic drug development enables the company to develop innovative therapies not only for China but for the global market. We are thrilled and honoured to join hands with this seasoned team and partner with reputable investors from the very beginning.”
