Zai Lab Completes $30 Million Series C Financing, Bringing Total Funding to Nearly $200 Million

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat), June 29 – Zai Lab, a domestic innovative drug R&D company, recently announced the completion of its $30 million Series C financing round. The round was led by OrbiMed, with participation from Vivo Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, and Rock Springs Capital.

Zai Lab was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai. It is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development, and commercialization of innovative medicines. Dr. Ying Du, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, is a serial entrepreneur. She previously oversaw project licensing and acquisitions at Pfizer’s global headquarters in the United States. Upon returning to China, she founded Hutchison MediPharma. She later joined Sequoia Capital, where she led investments in the healthcare sector, before founding Zai Lab. Dr. Du is an outstanding female entrepreneur.

Business registration records show that Zai Lab (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was registered in January 2014, with YING DU as the legal representative, a registered capital of US$66.5 million, and its controlling shareholder, Zai Lab (Hong Kong) Limited, holding 100% equity.

Zai Lab primarily builds a comprehensive product pipeline through internal research and development as well as in-licensing arrangements. Zai Lab boasts a management team with extensive experience at global pharmaceutical companies and R&D institutions. This founding team has successfully guided multiple products to gain approval from the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), secured approvals via expedited review pathways for new drugs in China, and established long-term strategic partnerships with numerous multinational pharmaceutical giants.

In March 2015, Bristol-Myers Squibb entered into a collaboration agreement with Zai Lab, granting Zai Lab the rights to develop, manufacture, and commercially promote its proprietary drug brivanib in the Greater China region (mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao). In return, Bristol-Myers Squibb would receive milestone payments at various stages of development and a share of commercial profits after the drug’s market launch.

In November 2015, Zai Lab entered into a collaboration agreement with Hanmi Pharmaceutical regarding an EGFR-targeted lung cancer drug, securing the rights for its research and development, manufacturing, and commercialization in China.

In terms of R&D, according to data from the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE), Zai Lab currently has 10 drug candidates under regulatory review, all of which are Class 1 and Class 1.1 new drugs, including alanyl-brenibutinib and ZL-2102.

In terms of financing, Zai Lab has publicly disclosed three rounds of funding: a $30 million Series A round completed in August 2014, with investors including Sequoia Capital and Qiming Venture Partners; and a $100 million Series B round completed in January 2016, in which Sequoia Capital and Qiming Venture Partners participated as follow-on investors, joined by Shangcheng Capital.

Zai Lab stated that the proceeds from this financing round will be used for laboratory research, project development, and other purposes, with J.P. Morgan serving as the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.