OPM Biosciences Secures Nearly RMB 1 Billion in Strategic Investment Led by China Renaissance Healthcare Fund, Marking Largest Single Financing in Cell Culture Sector

Recently, Shanghai OPM Biotech Co., Ltd. (“OPM Biotech”) completed a strategic investment round of nearly RMB 100 million, with China Renaissance Healthcare Industry Fund and Fortune Capital as the investors.

Notably, this round of financing represents the largest single funding deal in China’s cell culture sector to date. Dr. Xiao Zhihua, Founder, Chairman, and General Manager of OPM Biotech, stated that the proceeds will further enhance the company’s cell culture media production capacity, accelerate the development of its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) platform, and support talent acquisition.

Auprem Bio was registered and established in November 2013 at the Shanghai International Medical Park. It is a high-tech enterprise in China specializing in the development and large-scale production of serum-free media for animal cell culture, ranking as the most professional in its field.

Aupaima, derived from “Optimize,” is dedicated to optimizing cell culture processes through an innovative model that organically integrates “culture media products + technical services,” thereby facilitating the development of innovative biologics. The company secured venture capital financing in 2015, led by CCB Capital.

Currently, OPM Biologics has established a 2,000-square-meter GMP-compliant culture medium production workshop and a 1,000-square-meter R&D laboratory. Additionally, a 4,000-square-meter platform for cell culture process development and pilot-scale production is under construction. The company obtained ISO 9001 quality management system certification from TÜV Germany in March 2017.

Through this round of financing, OPM Biologics will be able to provide customers with end-to-end solutions, ranging from media development and manufacturing to one-stop CDMO services.

Dr. Xiao Zhihua, Founder, Chairman, and General Manager of Aupaima Biotech

“The introduction of China Renaissance Healthcare Industry Fund in this round of financing was primarily driven by the fund’s profound insights into the future development trajectory of both the company and its industry, as well as China Renaissance Capital’s leading capabilities in capital operations. These strengths will help the company achieve multi-dimensional industrial integration across technology, talent, and other areas, thereby fulfilling OPM Biotech’s long-term strategic plan,” said Dr. Xiao Zhihua.

Culture media are core raw materials in biopharmaceuticals, a key factor for the success of preclinical development of biologics, and a critical element for cost control in large-scale manufacturing. Their demand has grown exponentially with the rise of the biopharmaceutical industry.

Currently, OPM Biotech has provided culture media products to nearly 200 high-quality biopharmaceutical development companies and research institutes. Its product quality rivals that of top international brands and has gained widespread industry recognition. With a foothold in China and a global perspective, OPM Biotech has begun delivering premium culture media products and technical services to countries and regions across the Asia-Pacific.

Zhang Junjie, Founding Partner of Huaxing Healthcare Industry Fund, stated, “Culture media are essential core upstream materials for the biopharmaceutical industry. We are confident in the industry prospects of China’s biopharmaceutical sector, strongly align with OPM’s philosophy, and have high regard for its management team. Going forward, Huaxing Healthcare Industry Fund will actively support OPM in building a platform enterprise integrating cell culture and CDMO services, thereby contributing to the development of the entire biopharmaceutical industry.”

Image provided by OPM Biotech

Dr. Xiao Zhihua introduced that OPM Biotech’s “culture media + CDMO” model can significantly accelerate the progress of biopharmaceuticals from innovative R&D to industrialization. To date, the company has established technical service and strategic partnerships with dozens of renowned innovative drug development companies in China, providing end-to-end CDMO platform services that cover antibody new drug screening, stable cell line construction from DNA sequences, cell culture process optimization, and pilot-scale production.

Meanwhile, OPM Biologics has established a comprehensive platform for the quality analysis and characterization of antibody drugs, encompassing physicochemical analysis, binding analysis, and cell-based in vitro functional assays, thereby providing robust support and backing for its CDMO business.

Staying true to its original mission and building on substantial accumulated strengths, OPM Biotech is further expanding its footprint into the CDMO sector and other segments of the biopharmaceutical industry chain, with cell culture media as its foundation. Huaxing Medical Industry Fund will work alongside OPM Biotech to focus on corporate governance, talent acquisition, incentive structure development, and mergers and acquisitions, thereby helping the company unlock its growth potential and achieve more ambitious future development.