Lewei Pharma Completes Nearly RMB 500 Million Series C Financing Led by Yingke Capital

Laviana, a CDMO company focused on innovative small-molecule drugs, has completed its Series C financing round of nearly RMB 500 million. The round was led by Fujian Yingke Venture Capital Co., Ltd., with participation from Shanghai October Asset Management Co., Ltd., HRVC Capital, Industrial Securities Innovation Capital, Yinglian Fund, Yueshi Investment, Zhongcheng New Industry, and Pingtan Yihe. Existing shareholder Huayi Capital continued to invest in this round. The funds will primarily be used for the construction of the CDMO base project by its Cangzhou subsidiary, the development of new drugs and the construction of a GMP production base in Hefei, and the establishment of an innovation accelerator laboratory in Shanghai.

Laviana, established in October 2005 and headquartered in Jiangsu Province, specializes in industrialization outsourcing services for the innovative pharmaceutical industry. Its service portfolio covers process translation from laboratory to industrial scale, including process development and optimization, pilot-scale trials, and commercial-scale manufacturing from preclinical stages through post-approval marketing. In 2015, the company completed its joint-stock reform and has since established R&D centers, production bases, and overseas business hubs in multiple locations both domestically and internationally.

Customized R&D and manufacturing services for innovative drug intermediates are subdivided into customized R&D services and customized manufacturing services. Together, these form an integrated and seamlessly connected business portfolio of Laviana and its subsidiaries, primarily serving the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. Customized R&D refers to providing tailored services such as process development, quality research, and safety studies for pharmaceutical intermediates used in innovative drugs, with these services mainly delivered by Tianjin Laviana. Customized manufacturing refers to providing non-GMP pilot-scale R&D and customized production services for pharmaceutical intermediates used in innovative drugs, covering services from non-GMP pilot-scale R&D and production during the technology development stage to industrialized production during the commercialization stage, with these services mainly delivered by Laviana. Both types of services are high value-added offerings that can reduce R&D and production costs for pharmaceutical companies, help them effectively control R&D risks and improve R&D efficiency, optimize supply chains, and accelerate the market launch of new products.

Classified by lifecycle, pharmaceuticals can be divided into innovative drugs and generic drugs. Laviana primarily serves the innovative drug sector, specializing in custom research, development, and manufacturing services for new molecular entities (NMEs). Currently, Laviana handles over one hundred project orders annually, covering therapeutic areas such as oncology, the central nervous system, and metabolic disorders. The company has established long-term strategic partnerships with numerous renowned global innovative pharmaceutical clients.

The pharmaceutical CMO/CDMO industry is a highly market-driven sector characterized by perfect competition. Globally, pharmaceutical CMO/CDMO firms primarily serve pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in developed regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan. Currently, CMO/CDMO enterprises worldwide are predominantly concentrated in Europe, the United States, and Asia, with those in the Asian market mainly located in China and India.

Leveraging its competitive advantages in talent, infrastructure, and cost structure, China has increasingly become the preferred strategic outsourcing destination for multinational pharmaceutical companies. The Chinese pharmaceutical CDMO market has maintained a growth rate of over 20% in recent years. In 2020, there were more than 800 small-molecule drugs under clinical investigation in China, indicating substantial market potential.

Mr. Chen Wenting, Chairman and Founder of Laviana, stated that as the globalization of pharmaceutical R&D advances, multinational pharmaceutical companies are expanding horizontally—transforming from drug manufacturers into therapeutic solution providers, and further into health management enterprises. This evolution is driving increasingly higher demands on the production capacity and technological capabilities of outsourcing partners. Meanwhile, the advancement of precision medicine is imposing stricter requirements on drug development and manufacturing processes. Coupled with changes in the spectrum of human diseases, the division of labor within the CDMO sector will become increasingly specialized and standardized. These trends undoubtedly present significant growth opportunities for Laviana.

Yingke Capital ranks among the top six Chinese venture capital and private equity firms, with assets under management nearing RMB 50 billion. Over 90% of its capital comes from large institutional investors. The firm focuses on core assets in biopharmaceuticals and hard technology, having invested in nearly 300 industry-leading enterprises. By actively implementing a dual strategy of “investment in the biopharmaceutical sector + holding control in the life sciences industry,” Yingke Capital has built China’s most comprehensive biopharmaceutical investment and research team. It has invested in approximately 150 innovative leading biopharmaceutical companies across fields such as biological vaccines, cancer diagnosis and treatment, rare diseases, and gene therapy, establishing the industry’s most extensive full-chain ecosystem for biopharmaceuticals. Recognized by the market as the “best entry point into the golden track of biopharmaceuticals.”