China-based enzyme and antibody developer Vazyme Biotech secured RMB550m ($78m) in a series C round on Friday led by insurance provider China Life Insurance, DealStreetAsia has reported.
Investment firm Sherpa Capital also contributed to the round. China Life Insurance invested through its healthcare fund.
Founded in 2012, Vazyme develops enzymes and antibodies for applications such as clinical diagnosis, molecular diagnostics and high-throughput sequencing. Its products include a detection kit for Covid-19, recently approved for mass production and export by China’s regulator.
The cash will drive the continued commercialisation of Vazyme’s raw materials and reagents, while also allowing the company to double down on the production of proprietary materials and products for research organisations that are currently dependent on imports.
Vazyme has closed five rounds to date, DealStreetAsia said, though it did not provide any figures. Conglomerate Huatai Group participated in a series B round in 2019, investing through its healthcare fund, and was joined by Everest Venture Capital.
GF Xinde Investment, Share Capital, Shangrong Asset Management and Xinyuan Asset Management were among the investors in pre-series A and A rounds in 2016, while Danen Capital had supplied angel funding in 2013.
