SaiPharm Completes RMB 500 Million Series D Financing to Strengthen Integrated CRO Platform and Accelerate Innovative Drug Development

Recently, SAFE Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Saifu Pharmaceutical”) successfully completed its Series D financing round of approximately RMB 500 million. This round of financing was led byCo-led by SDIC Venture Capital and China State-owned Capital Venture Capital Fund, with joint investment from Taiping Healthcare Fund, Jianxing Healthcare Fund, CICC Qide Fund under CICC Capital, and Gu’an Junxiang Venture Capital Investment Fund under Fangfu Capital., Probe Capital served as the financial advisor for this round of financing. Previously, Saifu Pharmaceutical had completed multiple rounds of financing, receiving investment from numerous well-known institutions, including Qifu Capital, Legend Capital, Mefang Capital, China Life Equity Investment, SDIC Venture Capital, Chang Development, QinZhi Capital, CICC Qide, GF Qianhe, Huakong Investment, and Biotime Biotechnology.

The proceeds from this round of financing will be used to further strengthen Saifu Pharmaceutical’s one-stop innovative pharmaceutical CRO service platform, accelerate the development of next-generation cell and gene therapy (CGT) technology platforms and the expansion of laboratory facilities, and deepen its one-stop CRO services by leveraging its existing nationwide footprint in alignment with industry trends and customer needs.

Liu Yang, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Saifu Pharmaceutical“Sincere gratitude is extended to new and existing shareholders, including SDIC Venture Capital, China State-owned Capital Venture Capital Fund, Taiping Medical Health Fund, Jianxing Medical Fund, CICC Qide, and Fangfu Capital, for their support of Saifu Pharmaceutical. Saifu Pharmaceutical boasts expert resources covering the entire innovative drug R&D industry chain, a one-stop CRO service platform, and extensive experience in dual-filing projects. Its core business is highly focused on innovative drugs and therapies represented by cell and gene therapy (CGT), having facilitated the successful IND and NDA approvals for multiple innovative drugs in recent years. Recognized as a national-level ‘Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative’ Little Giant enterprise and hosting two postdoctoral research workstations, the company has further strengthened its R&D capabilities and service standards. Looking ahead, Saifu Pharmaceutical will continue to deepen its engagement in innovative drugs and therapies, accelerate the reserve of cutting-edge technologies and team building, and better serve the R&D process of frontier innovative drugs in China.”

SDIC Venture Capital“It is widely recognized that new drug R&D services play a crucial role in facilitating the commercialization of innovative pharmaceutical technologies. As a fund dedicated to ‘serving national innovation strategies and focusing on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements,’ we have consistently regarded investment in new drug R&D services as a key component in strengthening the industrial ecosystem of the biopharmaceutical sector. Since our initial investment in Saifu Pharmaceutical in 2020, we have been delighted to witness the company’s rapid growth. It has achieved remarkable accomplishments across multiple dimensions: solidifying its one-stop service business model, building internationally and domestically leading management and technical teams, expanding its experimental bases nationwide, and establishing competitive advantages in the field of cell and gene therapy (CGT) and other innovative biotechnologies.The company focuses on providing one-stop preclinical CRO services for innovative drugs and therapies, particularly those represented by cell and gene therapy (CGT). By deeply engaging with cutting-edge innovative drugs, it has developed unique differentiated competitive advantages and secured a leading market position. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about the broad application prospects of frontier therapies such as CGT and their significant potential to address unmet clinical needs. We will continue to support Saifu Pharmaceutical, promote the transformation of innovative drug technologies into practical applications, and jointly build a symbiotic innovation ecosystem within the biopharmaceutical industry.”

China State-owned Capital Venture Investment FundIt stated: “Saifu Pharmaceutical is actively building a technical foundation for the research and evaluation of cell and gene therapies, possesses extensive project experience, and has made significant contributions to the innovation of frontier biotechnologies such as CGT in China. The investment in Saifu Pharmaceutical represents a key strategic move in the biomedical portfolio of China State-owned Capital Venture Capital Fund Co., Ltd., and serves as an important measure to implement national policies on pharmaceutical innovation and advance the innovation-driven development strategy.”

Lu Shanshan, Deputy General Manager of Taiping InnovationIt stated: “Currently, there remain substantial unmet clinical needs in fields such as oncology, immunology, and preventive medicine. Innovative therapies, including cell and gene therapy (CGT), exosomes, and PDC/ADC, are continuously emerging. Preclinical CRO companies that command core resources such as GLP compliance capabilities and possess differentiated competitive advantages have significant growth potential. As a leading one-stop preclinical CRO service provider focused on innovative drugs and therapies represented by cell and gene therapy (CGT), Saifu Pharmaceutical has a clear strategy and rapid development, playing an important role in promoting the high-quality development of the industry. Taiping Medical Health Fund will continue to seize strategic opportunities in the broader healthcare industry, actively support the Taiping Group’s ‘Insurance + Medical, Elderly Care, and Wellness’ ecosystem, fully leverage the advantages of insurance capital, consistently focus on innovation and transformation in biotechnology, persist in empowering enterprises, and make due contributions to ‘Healthy China’ and technological self-reliance.”

Dr. Huang Xu, Managing Director of CICC Capitalstated: “We remain firmly bullish on the essential one-stop CRO market for innovative drugs and therapies, represented by CGT, as well as on Saifu Pharmaceutical’s technical execution capabilities. Following our lead investment in Saifu Pharmaceutical in the previous round, the company’s development has exceeded expectations; therefore, we are increasing our investment in this round, looking forward to Saifu Pharmaceutical providing more efficient and high-quality services for innovative drug R&D in China and making greater contributions.”

Zhang Hui, Managing Partner of Fangfu Capital (Manager of the Gu’an Junxiang Fund)stated: “Saifu Pharmaceutical has built a one-stop CRO full-industry-chain service platform for innovative drugs and therapies, represented by CGT. Saifu Pharmaceutical’s professional service capabilities are widely recognized in the industry. With a clear development strategy focused on capability building and expansion into emerging fields, its team demonstrates exceptional organizational management and execution. We look forward to partnering with the Saifu Pharmaceutical team to jointly advance the R&D of innovative drugs in China.”

SDIC Venture Capital, established in 2016, is a venture capital fund management company specially set up by China State Development & Investment Corp. (SDIC) in accordance with market-oriented principles. It was founded to implement the national innovation-driven development strategy, deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology, and accelerate the transfer and commercialization of national scientific and technological achievements. Through platforms such as the National Science and Technology Major Project Achievement Transformation Fund, the SDIC Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Scientific and Technological Achievement Transformation Fund, the SDIC High-Tech (Shenzhen) Venture Capital Fund, the SDIC (Ningbo) Scientific and Technological Achievement Transformation Fund, and the SDIC Greater Bay Area Scientific and Technological Achievement Transformation Fund, SDIC Venture Capital consistently focuses on investment goals related to the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. It targets key sectors including advanced manufacturing, electronic information, biomedicine, and materials and energy, while aligning with national regional development strategies in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The company continues to promote breakthroughs in independent innovation of core key technologies and build a robust investment ecosystem for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

China State-owned Capital Venture Investment Fund, a national-level fund approved by the State Council, aligns with national strategic initiatives and emphasizes forward-looking research. Focusing on niche segments of strategic emerging industries, the fund identifies investment opportunities through in-depth industry analysis. In recent years, it has invested in leading companies across various biotechnology subsectors, including United Imaging Healthcare, Alphamab Oncology, CStone Pharmaceuticals, Cathay Biotech, and Guoyi Quantum. The fund has established strategic partnerships with central state-owned enterprises such as Sinopharm Group and engages in deep collaboration with China’s most innovative academic and research institutions, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Fudan University, earning a strong reputation within the industry.

Taiping Medical Health Fund is a private equity investment fund managed by Taiping Innovation, a subsidiary of China Taiping Insurance Group, with a registered scale of RMB 10 billion. The equity investment business of China Taiping has long focused on the medical and health industry. Guided by the Healthy China strategy, Taiping Innovation is committed to conducting investments closely aligned with China Taiping’s core insurance business, fostering mutual empowerment between fund investments and the core insurance operations, and supporting the creation of China Taiping’s “Insurance + Medical, Elderly Care, and Wellness” ecosystem. In managing this fund, Taiping Innovation adopts an “F+D” investment strategy, focusing on areas such as biopharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical outsourcing, medical devices and diagnostics, healthcare services, biotechnology, and healthcare informatization, while also extending its reach into health technology and health consumption.

CICC Capital is the private equity investment fund platform of China International Capital Corporation Limited (“CICC”), responsible for managing CICC’s domestic and overseas private equity investment fund businesses. The funds under its management cover a wide range of categories, including RMB corporate equity investment funds, funds of funds (FOFs), real estate funds, infrastructure funds, and USD corporate equity investment funds. As of the end of 2021, CICC Capital had cumulative assets under management exceeding RMB 400 billion, supported by a professional investment management team of more than 400 members, establishing it as a leading comprehensive alternative asset investment management platform in China with international influence.

Fangfu Capital, a specialized institution focused on early- to mid-stage investments in advanced manufacturing and the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector of biopharmaceuticals, has invested in multiple industry-leading projects in the CXO field, including ImmuneOnco, Shiguang Technology, iMedicheck, and Ketu Medicine. Fangfu Capital is optimistic about the long-term development potential of the clinical research outsourcing industry and will continue to support Chinese CXO enterprises in increasing their market share in the global market.