ZSHK Laboratories Completes RMB 100 Million Series A Funding Led by Qiming Venture Partners

VCBeat has learned at the earliest opportunity that,ZSHKZSHK Laboratories Limited (“ZSHK”) announced the completion of its RMB 100 million Series A financing round,This round of financing was led by Qiming Venture Partners, with Jishi Capital participating as a co-investor. The funds raised will be primarily used for laboratory construction, recruitment of high-end talent, and business expansion.

According toDr. Li Ming, Founder and CEO of ZSHKIntroduction: ZSHK was founded by the core team from the Safety Evaluation Center of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who embarked on full-time entrepreneurship. Headquartered in Hong Kong, China, the company operates as a one-stop R&D service platform primarily focused on preclinical research and evaluation services for biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. Its offerings include pharmacological efficacy studies, pharmacokinetic studies, and safety assessment studies. ZSHK has established independent laboratories in three locations: Hong Kong Science Park, Pingshan District in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, and Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu Province. The company is also actively developing its supply chain to meet the multi-level and multifaceted needs of clients across different regions for pharmaceutical and medical device R&D. Currently, ZSHK’s preclinical evaluation service laboratory in Suzhou Industrial Park is fully operational. Its drug evaluation laboratory in Hong Kong Science Park (the only preclinical drug safety evaluation institution in Hong Kong) and its new drug and medical device evaluation laboratory in Pingshan, Shenzhen, are scheduled to commence official operations in the second half of this year.

“China is currently in a stage of rapid development, where the reserve of scientific and technical talent and technology often lags behind the needs of enterprise growth. From the perspective of the current development stage, CRO companies capable of providing one-stop services are often more favored by startup pharmaceutical companies,” stated Dr. Li Ming. He noted that at this current stage, given that China’s foundational capabilities in new drug and innovative medical device R&D are still relatively weak compared to those abroad, and the talent reserve and knowledge structure in the scientific field are still under construction, domestic pharmaceutical and medical device R&D enterprises have a high degree of reliance on CROs for scientific and technical support and efficient R&D services. CRO service platforms with strong scientific capabilities, cost-effectiveness, and one-stop solutions are better positioned to meet the multi-level needs of R&D enterprises at different stages.

ZSHK provides R&D enterprises with services includingPharmacological and Efficacy Studies, Pharmacokinetic Studies, and Safety Evaluation Studiesone-stop preclinical R&D services that meet the development needs of pharmaceutical and medical device companies at various stages of preclinical research, thereby enabling them to accelerate and streamline their R&D processes.

Preclinical research evaluation institutions constitute a critical link in the process of translating basic research into tangible outcomes. Over the past two decades, core members of the ZSHK team have maintained close collaborations with leading domestic universities, research institutes, top-tier pharmaceutical innovation and R&D enterprises, and internationally renowned large pharmaceutical companies. They have led and participated in more than ten national major science and technology special projects, including research topics under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s “863 Program” and the “Major New Drug Creation” initiatives during the 11th, 12th, and 13th Five-Year Plan periods, thereby accumulating extensive experience in platform development and the translation of research achievements. The company’s founding team was among the earliest to engage in the preclinical R&D of multiple independently innovative drug products that are now marketed in China. They were also pioneers in supporting domestic and international pharmaceutical companies with Investigational New Drug (IND) applications for global markets, possessing substantial expertise in translating research outcomes and conducting preclinical R&D across various categories of new drugs.

Nisa Liang, Managing Partner at Qiming Venture Partners, stated, “Preclinical safety assessment CRO services present significant barriers to entry, as they can only be conducted in specialized GLP-compliant laboratories. Obtaining the requisite qualifications and certifications is both challenging and time-consuming, making experienced senior professional teams a scarce resource within the preclinical CRO industry. In recent years, China’s CRO sector has grown at an annual rate of approximately 20%, significantly outpacing global growth rates. Pharmaceutical and medical device developers, investment institutions, and local governments alike have fully recognized the substantial enabling and foundational support role that CROs play in R&D innovation. ZSHK boasts comprehensive, integrated pharmaceutical R&D service capabilities and technological platforms, positioning it for broad development prospects.”

Dr. Shao Ying, Founder of Jishi Capital, stated: “China’s pharmaceutical R&D industry is in an era of vigorous growth and increasing maturity, leading to a sustained rise in demand for CROs with specialized service capabilities. ZSHK not only boasts a top-tier team and extensive industry experience but also holds a leading edge in stages such as drug safety assessment, enabling the rapid establishment of comprehensive, advanced, and professional GLP laboratories. We believe that, against the backdrop of the significant development of innovative drugs in China, ZSHK will grow rapidly, scale up, and become a high-level preclinical CRO meeting international standards.”

Dr. Li Ming stated, “As Nisa mentioned, a highly experienced senior professional team is a scarce resource in the preclinical CRO industry.” ZSHK boasts a comprehensive, well-established senior business team in this field. Its core members include senior scientists, pharmacologists, immunology researchers, and laboratory animal technology experts with nearly 20 years of experience in toxicology research; pathologists with over 50 years of practice and certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology; as well as industry veterans with more than a decade of industrial experience in quality management, veterinary medicine (including ad hoc experts on the AAALAC Committee), toxicologic pathology, metabolic research, and facility construction and management. The addition of these senior scientists and enterprise executives has strongly empowered ZSHK across multiple dimensions, enabling team members to leverage their complementary strengths and jointly drive the company’s rapid growth and expansion.

Regarding future development, Dr. Li Ming stated that ZSHK will establish laboratories with a total area of approximately 40,000 square meters in Hong Kong and mainland China within the next three years. Focusing on preclinical evaluation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices as its core business, ZSHK will fully leverage the capabilities and experience accumulated by its team over two decades in preclinical drug evaluation. This will support the R&D and innovation efforts of domestic and international pharmaceutical and medical device companies, while continuously enhancing the company’s specialized R&D service capabilities. ZSHK aims to base itself in China while maintaining a global perspective, striving to become an international enterprise that provides comprehensive R&D services, including preclinical evaluation of drugs and medical devices, domestic and international regulatory submission services, clinical research services for pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and global patent licensing legal services.

Qiming Venture Partners was established in 2006 and has successively set up offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Hong Kong, Seattle, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages nine U.S. dollar funds and six RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $5.9 billion. Since its inception, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding early-stage and growth-stage companies in sectors such as TMT and Healthcare. To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in more than 380 high-growth innovative enterprises, among which over 130 have achieved exits through listings on exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), as well as through mergers and acquisitions. More than 40 of these portfolio companies have become industry-recognized unicorns and super unicorns.

Jishi Capital is an emerging healthcare fund established in 2020. It focuses on investing in innovative medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, and related technologies. The company’s team comprises seasoned professionals from both the healthcare and investment sectors. Committed to advancing the development of the health industry, Jishi Capital strives to identify innovative medical products and technologies worldwide, facilitating their product development and market entry in China. Its vision is to become a strong catalyst for innovative medical products and companies.