Ausbio Biopharma Completes RMB 450 Million Series B Financing to Expand CDMO Capacity
Thousand Oaks
Biopharmaceutical R&D and Production Service Provider
Recently, Thousand Oaks Biopharmaceuticals (Haimen) Co., Ltd. (“Thousand Oaks”) announced the completion of its RMB 450 million Series B financing round. The round was led by CICC Jintai (a fund under CICC Capital) and Jinshi Investment, with follow-on investments from CCB International, Wens Investment, and Shanghai Huaxu.
This round of financing will be primarily used for the construction of the serum-free cell culture media production base in Haimen and the capacity expansion of the CDMO segment. Upon completion, Thousand Oaks’ Haimen base will become a globally leading production facility for powdered culture media in terms of automation level, production efficiency, and capacity. The further expansion of CDMO capacity will facilitate the localization and industrialization of multiple BLA/NDA-stage projects currently undertaken or planned at Thousand Oaks, while ensuring the company’s ability to meet CDMO demands for diverse product types, including therapeutic biologics, preventive biologics, cell therapies, and gene therapy drugs.
Rendering of the Serum-Free Cell Culture Media Production Base in Haimen
Dr. Luo Shun, Chairman and President of Thousand Oaks, stated, “First and foremost, we extend our sincere gratitude to CICC, Goldstone Investment, China Construction Bank International, Wens Group, and Huaxu for their trust in us amid the intense and distressing global pandemic. This support will accelerate and enhance our development. Furthermore, this round of financing reaffirms Thousand Oaks’ strength and promising future, highlighting our unique competitive advantages and growth potential. We are currently at a critical juncture where the new technological revolution converges with industrial transformation. Global pharmaceutical giants are continuously increasing their R&D investments, and the share of biopharmaceuticals within the broader pharmaceutical industry continues to rise. Leveraging this financing, we will further enhance our production capacity and technical service capabilities, consolidate our leading position in the cell culture media and CDMO sectors, and strive to become the leading CMC organization in China’s biopharmaceutical industry.”
Ge Xiaojun, Managing Director of CICC Capital, spoke highly of Thousand Oaks: “Thousand Oaks is one of the few integrated CMC organizations in China. On one hand, we are optimistic about the international team led by Dr. Luo Shun, which boasts over twenty years of practical experience in multinational pharmaceutical companies and possesses global competitiveness. On the other hand, it has a comprehensive portfolio of cell culture media products and end-to-end CDMO development and manufacturing capabilities. From human and animal vaccines to protein and antibody drugs, Thousand Oaks Group has served hundreds of well-known pharmaceutical companies both domestically and internationally. In the first half of 2020 alone, its CDMO division signed nearly 20 client projects at various CMC stages, covering preclinical research starting from cell line development, clinical drug manufacturing, and multiple Phase III clinical and BLA/NDA stage projects. The company undergoes dozens of customer quality audits and simulated on-site inspections by drug regulatory authorities each year. Continuous business growth and a steady stream of positive industry reputation are important reasons for our choice of Thousand Oaks. We are very confident in the future of Thousand Oaks and are willing to work together with its team to realize the vision of making high-end biologics accessible and affordable to people worldwide.”
Thousand Oaks CDMO Production Building: Actual View
Thousand Oaks specializes in compliant, large-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing as an Integrated CMC Solution Provider, offering process development services (CDO) and pilot-to-commercial scale manufacturing services (CMO). The company possesses extensive expertise in process development and production for recombinant protein products (including monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, antibody fragments, fusion proteins, and coagulation factors) and vaccine products (such as protein vaccines, viral vector vaccines, and virus-like particles). Thousand Oaks operates a 10,000-square-meter cGMP facility and a 1,500-square-meter upstream and downstream process development laboratory in Haimen, Jiangsu Province. Its unique modular production line design enables an annual capacity of nearly 100 batches, allowing it to simultaneously manufacture multiple products for domestic and international clients.
Thousand Oaks has taken the lead in breaking away from traditional industry operational models by integrating Jianshun Bio, a leading domestic brand of serum-free culture media. Established nearly a decade ago, Jianshun Bio operates international first-class R&D laboratories in Lanzhou, Shanghai, Haimen, and California, USA, along with a 900-square-meter cGMP-compliant production facility for serum-free powdered culture media. The company provides high-quality, efficient, chemically defined, serum-free, and personalized cell culture media technologies, offering formulation manufacturing, technical support, and ancillary services to the biopharmaceutical industry. With one-stop solutions ranging from core raw materials to CMC services, Thousand Oaks is a trusted partner for global biopharmaceutical companies.
CICC Capital is a wholly-owned private investment management subsidiary of CICC, with total assets under management exceeding RMB 300 billion, covering various funds of funds and direct investment products. CICC Jiatai Fund is a private equity fund under CICC Capital. The Jiatai Fund’s management team began managing private equity funds in 2010 and currently oversees approximately RMB 30 billion in assets. It has been ranked among the Top 10 Best Private Equity Firms in China by Zero2IPO Research Group and CVSource multiple times.
Jinshi Investment, established in October 2007, is the domestic comprehensive investment platform of CITIC Securities, China’s leading investment bank. As one of the most influential private equity firms in China, it covers sectors such as healthcare, high-end manufacturing, industrial energy, TMT, new materials, and defense industry. Over the years, it has received numerous awards and honors from institutions including Zero2IPO, CVSource, and China Securities Journal.
CCB International is the investment banking flagship of China Construction Bank. Its subsidiaries have built a comprehensive investment banking value chain centered on the Pre-IPO, IPO, and Post-IPO stages, offering a wide range of products. It provides global high-quality enterprises with full-spectrum investment banking services, including sponsorship and underwriting, financial advisory, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring, follow-on offerings and placements for listed companies, refinancing, direct investment, asset management, securities brokerage, market research, investment consulting, as well as futures and commodities businesses.
Wens Investment is a wholly-owned financial investment subsidiary of Wens Foodstuff Group (Stock Code: 300498), a renowned agricultural, pastoral, and food group listed on China’s A-share market. Established in 2011, Wens Investment focuses on five key sectors: consumer services, advanced manufacturing (including the defense industry), healthcare, clean technology, and TMT. The assets under management exceed RMB 10 billion. To date, Wens Investment has participated in equity investments in nearly 70 companies, with 13 portfolio companies completing initial public offerings (IPOs), three achieving listing through mergers and acquisitions, four having passed the review by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) pending issuance, and five currently in the CSRC approval queue. In the second half of 2020, an additional 7–8 portfolio companies sequentially submitted IPO applications to the CSRC, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The firm has been honored as one of the “Top 20 Best Private Equity Investment Institutions in China,” the “Golden Bull Annual Winner for Private Equity Investment Institutions,” and one of the “Top 20 Venture Capital and Private Equity Investment Institutions in China.”
Shanghai Huaxu Investment Co., Ltd. was established in 2002 as a professional investment institution primarily engaged in equity investment, fund investment, and asset management. Since its inception, the company has collaborated with state-owned enterprises and listed companies to establish multiple investment platforms and merger-and-acquisition funds. It has participated in more than 20 enterprise and fund investments, with total assets currently amounting to approximately RMB 3 billion.