Guangzhou China-Israel Bio Fund II Invests in Swiss Pharma BioVersys AG to Accelerate AMR and Anti-TB Drug Development in China

Recently, the Guangzhou Zhongyi Phase II Biological Industry Investment Fund (hereinafter referred to as the “Zhongyi Fund”) announced its participation in the Series C+ financing round of the Swiss company BioVersys AG, with a total investment of approximately RMB 42 million.This move marks the first entry of the China-Israel Fund into the global field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Meanwhile, BioVersys AG announced that it will establish its China headquarters on Guangzhou International Bio Island to strengthen close ties with the Chinese market, accelerate the clinical development of its products, and focus on treatments for AMR and tuberculosis in China.

The proceeds from Zhongyi Fund’s current round of investment in BioVersys AG will be primarily allocated to the clinical development of its innovative drug candidate BV100 and to building the team at its China headquarters, with the aim of establishing a portfolio of novel antibiotic products targeting multiple indications. BV100 is an innovative therapy designed to address life-threatening infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB).

In January 2023, the AMR Action Fund, the world’s largest public-private investment fund dedicated to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) therapeutics, invested in BioVersys AG, marking the fund’s first investment in Europe. Since its inception, BioVersys AG has successfully raised approximately CHF 130 million in equity financing and policy support funds.

With its outstanding R&D capabilities and innovative drug pipeline, BioVersys AG has also earned recognition from GlaxoSmithKline, a leading global multinational pharmaceutical company. Based on this recognition, the two companies have joined forces to jointly advance the development of alpibectir, a therapeutic agent for tuberculosis.

In the Chinese market, demand for novel, highly effective antimicrobial agents with low resistance potential is growing steadily. BioVersys AG’s BV100 and Alpibectir drug pipelines, leveraging their innovation and potential therapeutic efficacy, demonstrate significant market promise in China’s dynamic, high-growth market.

The introduction of BioVersys AG’s investment to Guangzhou by the China-Israel Fund represents another significant achievement in the development of the biopharmaceutical industry, supported by the Guangzhou Municipal and Huangpu District governments. This milestone marks a solid step forward for Guangzhou in attracting high-quality international projects and promoting the growth of its local biopharmaceutical sector. This initiative by the China-Israel Fund not only provides BioVersys AG with a bridge to enter the Chinese market but also brings advanced biopharmaceutical technologies and management expertise to Guangzhou, helping to enhance the city’s competitiveness in the global biopharmaceutical arena. Through such investments, the China-Israel Fund is continuously strengthening the construction of Guangzhou’s biopharmaceutical ecosystem, fostering coordinated development across the upstream and downstream segments of the industrial chain, and providing robust support for Guangzhou’s ambition to become an international hub for biopharmaceutical innovation. Furthermore, this will attract more outstanding domestic and foreign enterprises and talent to Guangzhou, jointly driving the prosperous development of the city’s biopharmaceutical industry.

Guangzhou Zhongyi Biological Industry Investment Fund (Zhongyi Fund) was established in 2016 on Guangzhou International Bio Island, funded jointly by fiscal funds from the Guangzhou Municipal Government and state-owned enterprises. Zhongyi Fund is the first RMB-denominated investment fund in China focused on the healthcare sector and managed primarily by an Israeli team. The first phase of the fund, with a size of RMB 606 million, has invested in 12 leading Israeli companies in medical devices and digital health. By the end of 2021, despite the severe challenges posed by the pandemic, the Zhongyi Fund management team received strong support from Guangzhou High-Tech Industrial Development Zone Investment Group and Guangzhou International Bio Island Group, completing the initial closing of RMB 600 million for the Zhongyi Phase II Fund, which had a target size of RMB 1.8 billion. Zhongyi Phase II Fund focuses on investing in international innovative pharmaceutical companies at the clinical trial stage.

BioVersys AG, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is a multi-pipeline clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The company focuses on identifying, developing, and commercializing novel antibacterial products to treat serious, life-threatening infections caused by multidrug-resistant ("MDR") bacteria. Its product candidates are derived from two proprietary technology platforms (TRIC and Ansamycin Chemistry), designed to overcome resistance mechanisms, block virulence production, and directly impact the pathogenicity of harmful bacteria, thereby identifying new therapeutic options in the fields of antibacterials and the microbiome. This enables BioVersys to address the high unmet medical need for new therapies to combat life-threatening resistant bacterial infections and chronic inflammatory microbiome diseases exacerbated by bacteria. The company’s most advanced R&D programs, BV100 for hospital-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii infections and alpibectir for tuberculosis, are both in Phase 2 clinical trials.