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Venture Capitalists Put $260 Million Into New Chinese Biotech

This article is more than 5 years old.

Johnny Wolf

A group of venture capitalists have put $260 million into a new Shanghai biotechnology firm, Brii BioSciences, that will develop new medicines exclusively for the Chinese market.

"The company I am trying to build is only going to do China," says Brii Chief Executive Zhi Hong. "I will not have any other market."

For 11 years, Hong has headed infectious disease drug development at GlaxoSmithKline, where he spearheaded a turnaround that resulted in one of the company's biggest recent successes, Tivacay, for HIV. The new company will be focused not on drug discovery but on clinical trials, regulatory approvals, and commercialization.

One focus will be developing drugs for the Chinese market that are already being tested elsewhere. Hong says that at large companies, executives are unable to focus on the Chinese market. He promises not to get distracted. The company is launching with rights to up to four experimental anti-infective drugs being developed by Vir Biotechnology, a San Francisco biotech firm. It will also have a partnership with the health arm of Chinese internet giant Alibaba.

Arch managing director Robert Nelsen, who ranks fifth on Forbes' Midas List of the top venture capitalists, said in a statement that Brii "represents a long-term investment in building a leading independent biotech company in China and in the country’s public health." Other investors in Brii, which stands for "breakthrough intelligence and insight," include Brii 6 Dimensions Capital, Boyu Capital, Yunfeng Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Blue Pool Capital.

Hong says he has two guiding principles. He doesn't want to license any drugs that don't have clear commercial advantages, and he doesn't want to do wrong by patients. "I don't want to compromise patient safety for profit," Hong says. "That is not something that is going to happen while I am CEO."