Eight Roads Launches $400 Million China Healthcare Fund to Expand Full-Value-Chain Investment

On June 29, 2021, F-Prime Capital announced the launch of its latest China-focused healthcare fund, with a total size of $400 million. This fund will continue F-Prime Capital’s investment strategy in China’s healthcare sector, further expanding investments across the entire industry value chain and building a comprehensive Chinese healthcare ecosystem centered on key disease areas.

The newly established fund will invest in and build healthcare and life sciences companies with disruptive innovation capabilities, supporting them to lead industry transformation and fill market gaps. The fund will focus on early-stage investment opportunities in China’s healthcare sector, covering four key sub-sectors: new drug R&D, medical devices and diagnostics, healthcare services, and healthcare IT/digital health.

Patrick Ou, Senior Managing Partner and Head of Global Venture Capital at F-Prime Capital Partners (known as “Sidaohua” in China), stated: “F-Prime Capital is committed to generating a positive impact on global health, well-being, innovation, and efficiency while supporting outstanding companies. The decision to launch another healthcare-dedicated fund focused on the Chinese market stems from our firm belief in China’s innovative capabilities and the significant investment opportunities emerging alongside its increasingly mature healthcare sector. F-Prime’s global ecosystem and resource network, including our U.S.-based sister fund F-Prime Capital, will provide comprehensive support to this newly established fund.”

Zang Jialun, Managing Partner and Head of China at Sida Capital, stated, “We are proud of our team’s outstanding investment track record in China’s healthcare sector, as well as our ability to invest in and incubate disruptive innovators that fill market gaps. With the establishment of the new fund, we will continue to partner with ambitious founders in the medical industry to jointly lead transformation and development in the sector.”

To date, Stone Capital has invested in more than 50 companies in China’s healthcare and medical sector, covering the entire industry value chain and building a synergistic ecosystem centered on key disease areas. These investments span drug development (WuXi AppTec, Innovent Biologics, Hua Medicine, Allist Pharmaceuticals, Insilico Medicine, Westlake Biopharmaceuticals, Semma Therapeutics, Ocumension Therapeutics); medical devices (Aierbo Medical, Lenor Medical, Kuanyue Orthopedics, Kailian Medical, Ruipai Medical); healthcare services (Deda Medical, Boner Orthopedics, Gushengtang Traditional Chinese Medicine, Meizhong Airui, Renshu Medical, East Begin Speech, KnowYourself); and healthcare IT/digital health (Sipei Group, Medbanks Health, Fucunbao, Haici Technology, Wanhu Liangfang, Zheng’an Technology).

Globally, OrbiMed’s investment team spans China, Japan, India, Europe, and the United States. To date, it has invested in more than 200 healthcare companies worldwide, including 34 publicly listed firms such as WuXi AppTec, Adagene, Beam Therapeutics, Denali Therapeutics, Aier Eye Hospital Group, Hua Medicine, Innovent Biologics, Laurus Labs, Nanjing King-Friend Biochemical Pharmaceutical, and Ocumension Therapeutics.

Fidelity Growth Partners is a global private investment firm backed by Fidelity Investments. Leveraging its unique capital structure, Fidelity Growth Partners deploys capital flexibly to support innovative companies in disrupting or leading their markets, helping entrepreneurs realize their ambitions. Currently, together with affiliated funds under Fidelity Investments, Fidelity Growth Partners ranks among the top ten venture capital firms globally. Our global ecosystem continuously provides portfolio companies with access to an extensive talent pool and deep local expertise, supporting their business growth. With over 25 years of venture capital experience in China, Fidelity Growth Partners has invested in more than 110 companies in the healthcare and technology innovation sectors. Over the past decade, we have invested nearly $6 billion in startups worldwide.