China-based, Asia focused drug developer LianBio secured $310m in crossover financing from investors including pharmaceutical firm Pfizer yesterday.
Investment management firm RA Capital co-led the oversubscribed round with investment firm CMG-SDIC Capital and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, a branch of venture capital firm Venock. Jefferies was placement agent for the financing.
The other investors were Casdin Capital, Farallon, Logos Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Sphera Healthcare, Tybourne Capital Management, Vida Ventures, Viking Global Investors, Wellington Management, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.
LianBio is developing therapeutics licensed from pharmaceutical partners including MyoKardia and BridgeBio for conditions such as cancer and cardiorenal diseases which affect the heart and kidneys, with a focus on the Asian market, particularly China.
The company was launched in August this year with an undisclosed amount of funding from life sciences investment firm Perceptive Advisors. Konstantin Poukalov, managing director at Perceptive Advisors, is also LianBio’s chairman.
Poukalov said: “We are excited to partner with this world class group of investors who share our vision of accelerating broad access to transformative medicines for patients in China and other major Asian markets.
“Building on the success and momentum of the company’s recent launch, this financing provides additional support for LianBio’s efforts to contribute to China’s dynamic life sciences landscape by addressing significant unmet medical needs in the region.”
