CStone Pharmaceuticals Secures $260 Million Series B Financing, the Largest Series B Round in China's Biopharma Sector

Image source: CStone Pharmaceuticals official website

On May 9, 2018, CStone Pharmaceuticals (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (“CStone Pharmaceuticals”) announced today the completion of its $260 million (approximately RMB 1.65 billion) Series B financing round. The round was led by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, with participation from Sequoia Capital China, Yunfeng Capital, Tonghe Yucheng Capital, CITIC Private Equity Funds Management, Taikang Insurance Group, ARCH Venture Partners, Hillhouse Capital, King Star Capital, 3W Partners, AVICT, and Hongling Capital. Existing investors Yuanhe Origin, Boyu Capital, and Yucheng Capital (now a fund under Tonghe Yucheng Capital) also continued their participation in this round.

This is the largest single Series B financing in China’s biopharmaceutical sector to date. Combined with the previously completed Series A round, CStone Pharmaceuticals has raised a total of $410 million (approximately RMB 2.63 billion).

CStone Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2016, has a leadership team primarily composed of executives with multinational pharmaceutical management experience, including Jiang Ningjun, former President of Sanofi’s Asia-Pacific R&D Center; Yang Jianxin, former Vice President of BeiGene; and Yuan Bin, former Global Head of Oncology at MSD (Merck & Co.).

The company focuses primarily on the development of immuno-oncology drugs and combination therapies. It currently has more than 10 products in its pipeline, four of which have initiated clinical trials both domestically and internationally.

Notably, CS1001, the first domestically developed, full-length, fully human anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody independently researched and developed by the Company, is nearing completion of its Phase I dose-escalation clinical trial and will initiate registrational clinical studies in the near future. In late 2017, CStone Pharmaceuticals established the Suzhou Translational Medicine Research Center, which will further enhance clinical development efficiency.

Following this round of financing, CStone Pharmaceuticals will continue to advance the clinical development of CS1001 and other pipeline candidates, further expand its product portfolio through in-house R&D and licensed-in collaborations, while attracting and cultivating top pharmaceutical talent to ensure that high-quality innovative oncology therapies benefit patients in China as soon as possible.

Dr. Jiang Ningjun, CEO of CStone Pharmaceuticals, stated, “We are deeply honored to have gained recognition and support from top-tier investors both domestically and internationally, successfully completing our Series B financing within just two months. As a young and pragmatic innovative biopharmaceutical company, we have achieved steady growth in less than two years, making significant progress in pipeline development, external collaborations, and core team building. This round of financing is crucial for CStone Pharmaceuticals’ current stage and future development.”

Mr. Zhu Yongqin, Chief Investment Officer of the Private Equity Department at GIC (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation), stated, “GIC is delighted to lead CStone Pharmaceuticals’ current funding round. CStone boasts a first-class management team, a robust product pipeline, and world-class clinical development capabilities, making it one of the most innovative biopharmaceutical companies in China. We are highly optimistic about CStone’s strengths in tumor immunology and remain confident in the significant growth potential of China’s biopharmaceutical industry.”

All three investors from CStone Pharmaceuticals’ original Series A financing round—Yuanhe Yuandian, Boyu Capital, and Yucheng Capital—participated in the Series B financing round, continuing to strongly support the development of CStone Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Li Wei, Managing Partner at Tonghe Yucheng Capital, stated, “In just a few short years, R&D in immunotherapy has accounted for more than half of global oncology R&D projects, clearly signaling that the era of cancer immunotherapy and combination therapies has fully arrived. As one of the founding shareholders, we are delighted to witness CStone Pharmaceuticals’ remarkable achievements in the development of innovative immuno-oncology drugs. We have full confidence in CStone’s growth potential and remain committed to supporting its continued efforts in advancing combination immunotherapies, helping it become a leading enterprise in China’s new drug R&D sector.”

Source: CStone Pharmaceuticals official website, PR Newswire