China-based cancer medicine localisation business EOC Pharma has closed a $32m series B round led by Taikang Investment, a subsidiary of insurance and asset management group Taikang.
Taikang Investment supplied the capital through Shandong State-owned Taikang Industry Development Fund, a private equity fund it manages with partner Junfeng. It was joined by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China and investment firm H&Q Asia Pacific.
Spun off from the oncology unit at specialty pharmaceutical company Eddingpharm, EOC licenses cancer drug candidates from international pharmaceutical firms to develop and commercialise for the Chinese market.
The company’s portfolio of product candidates includes small molecule treatments for breast and gastric cancer that are both due to begin phase 3 registration studies in 2018, and multiple biological formulas that could underpin immunotherapies and treatments for tumour metastasis.
The cash will be used to progress EOC’s clinical pipeline while bringing in more late-stage oncology candidates through licensing agreements.
Sequoia China had already led EOC’s series A round at an undisclosed date, while Eddingpharm and healthcare-focused investment firm BioVenture are also existing investors.