China-based drug developer Innovent Biologics has raised $260m in a series D round that featured corporates such as Legend Capital, an investment arm of conglomerate Legend Holdings, China Money Network reported today.
Insurance providers China Life Investment Holding, Taikang Insurance and Ping An Insurance also participated in the round, which was led by an unnamed fund operated by China government-owned firm State Development and Investment Corporation (SDIC).
Temasek, the investment arm of the government of Singapore, and Hillhouse Capital also took part in the series D round.
Founded in 2011, Innovent Biologics is developing a range of therapies for the Chinese market. It currently has 12 candidates in its pipeline, focused on areas such as oncology, immunity and cardiovascular diseases.
The money will go towards research and development and an expansion of the company’s industrialisation activities.
Innovent Biologics has now secured a total of $410m in funding. Legend Capital previously led a $100m series C round in January 2015 that also included Lilly Asia Ventures, the local corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, F-Prime Capital and Frontline Bioventures.
Lilly Asia Ventures had also contributed to a $25m series B round in 2012 alongside F-Prime Capital, which earlier provided series A capital.
Eli Lilly and Innovent Biologics also signed a co-development and co-commercialisation agreement for six antibody candidates in 2015. The agreement will have the two partners collaborate for a decade and marked the first such deal for a China-based drug developer.
Lu Dazhong, managing director of SDIC, said: “China’s biopharmaceutical industry is at a golden age right now, and we have done a thorough due diligence on Innovent Biologics’ drug pipeline, development quality and capabilities.”