Joinn Laboratories Announces Strategic Investment in Wuxi Biopharmaceutical Equity Fund Amid Market Downturn

VCBeat has learned that on February 6, JOINN (Beijing Joinn Laboratories Co., Ltd.) announced the resolutions of the sixth meeting of its fourth Board of Directors. JOINN plans to sign a partnership agreement with Wuxi Guolian Industrial Investment Private Equity Fund Management Co., Ltd., Beijing Hongruheyu Investment Management Co., Ltd., Wuxi Capital Group Co., Ltd. (“Wuxi Capital Group”), and Jiangsu Yuanli Industry Investment Co., Ltd. to jointly establish the Wuxi Jinyifuxin Biopharmaceutical Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership) (provisional name). The total committed capital of the fund is RMB 1 billion. The fund will primarily invest in life and health sectors, including biopharmaceuticals, life sciences, areas with significant unmet clinical needs and innovative breakthrough technologies, medical devices, and CROs (Contract Research Organizations).

As a leading enterprise in China’s preclinical safety assessment sector, JOINN’s decision to invest in the biopharmaceutical fund managed by Wuxi Capital Group warrants careful examination. On one hand, this move reflects confidence in Wuxi Capital Group’s managerial strengths and deep expertise in biopharmaceutical investments; on the other, it signals optimism about the development prospects of Wuxi’s biopharmaceutical industry. As a pillar industry in Wuxi, the biopharmaceutical sector boasts a relatively complete industrial chain, steady growth in scale, distinct cluster characteristics, and gradually enhancing innovation capabilities. As one of the four landmark industries within Wuxi’s “465” modern industrial cluster, the city’s biopharmaceutical industry surpassed RMB 200 billion in scale in 2023, with Wuxi ranking among China’s top 20 cities for biopharmaceutical development for two consecutive years. Over the past three years, Wuxi has intensified its equity investment efforts in the biopharmaceutical sector, leveraging more market-oriented industrial fund partnerships to strategically position itself in the industry despite broader economic headwinds.

As the government investment platform of Huishan District in Wuxi, Jiangsu Yuanli Industry Investment Co., Ltd. has partnered with JOINN to introduce JOINN and its upstream and downstream supply chain enterprises to Wuxi, specifically to Huishan District. This initiative aims to establish Wuxi as a third major hub alongside Beijing Yizhuang and Suzhou Taicang. It is expected that Wuxi will form an “iron triangle” pharmaceutical R&D industrial cluster comprising “Binhu District + WuXi AppTec,” “Xinwu District + AstraZeneca,” and “Huishan District + JOINN.” This signifies that Wuxi will bring together key leading enterprises across the biopharmaceutical service value chain, thereby establishing a comprehensive ecosystem for the development of biopharmaceutical companies.

Wuxi Capital Group is a state-owned venture capital firm integrating seed, angel, venture, equity, M&A, and S-fund investments. With total assets under management exceeding RMB 240 billion, the company has deeply cultivated the life and health sector, establishing a comprehensive fund system covering the entire lifecycle of biopharmaceutical and healthcare enterprises—from seed and angel stages to VC and PE. This approach delivers both capital and synergistic industrial resources to portfolio companies. Its specialized and diversified biopharmaceutical investment team has made strategic layouts in innovative drugs, biotechnology, and medical devices. Notable investments include Rayue Biotech, Xiantong Medicine, and Jianshi Medical, all of which possess leading technological advantages in their respective niche markets.

Zhou Yi, Head of Beijing HongruheyuIt stated: “This investment represents a strategic exploration by JOINN for long-term development. On one hand, by leveraging the advantages of professional investment institutions in expert judgment and investment management, we aim to identify high-quality enterprises or projects in the biotechnology sector that possess core competitiveness, high growth potential, or strong growth prospects. This will positively impact the consolidation of our industrial foundation and the layout of the healthcare industry, further expand our industrial footprint, enhance profitability, create new profit growth drivers for the future, and achieve sustainable corporate development. On the other hand, by utilizing the general partner’s management experience and risk control systems, we can better seize investment opportunities, mitigate risks associated with investments and mergers and acquisitions, ensure the quality of investment projects, and align with the interests of the company and its shareholders.”

Zhang Xuejun, Chairman of Wuxi Huishan Science and Technology Innovation Industry GroupIt stated: “This collaboration with JOINN and Wuxi Capital Group aligns with the ‘Fund + Industry + Industrial Park’ strategic development model of Huishan District, Wuxi. By effectively leveraging the experience and advantages of the private equity investment firm Wuxi Capital Group, and forming a strong alliance with the listed industry leader JOINN, it aims to promote the rapid development of the biopharmaceutical sector in Huishan District, Wuxi, and establish a new highland for the development of Wuxi’s biopharmaceutical industry.”

Fu Haiying, Executive Director of Biopharmaceutical Investment at Wuxi Capital GroupWuxi Capital Group stated: “The joint establishment of a biomedical industry fund by Wuxi Capital Group, in its capacity as the manager, together with JOINN, an industry leader, and Huishan State-owned Assets Company, marks another significant strategic move for Wuxi Capital Group in the biomedical sector. The fund will fully leverage the synergistic advantages of ‘industry + capital’ to further expand Wuxi Capital Group’s presence in the biomedical field. Looking ahead, Wuxi Capital Group will strengthen its capital base, establish larger-scale specialized biomedical industry funds, broaden the ‘circle of friends’ of its biomedical funds, collaborate with more industry partners, and build a first-class biomedical investment brand in China.”