Healthcare-focused investor Vivo Capital has its accelerator platform, Vivo Accelerator, in Beijing to tap China’s strengths in supporting the global development of innovative drugs.
The platform seeks to leverage what it calls “systematic advantages” in China, including the country’s policy tailwinds, well-developed research infrastructures, strong talent pool, and large patient population to accelerate the development of innovative drugs and biopharmaceutical companies with global competitiveness.
Vivo Capital, whose investments cover venture capital (VC), private equity (PE), and public equity strategies, plans to combine the advantages of developing innovative drugs in China with its expertise in backing healthcare companies across multiple geographies and sectors.
Palo Alto-headquartered Vivo Capital has invested in over 430 healthcare companies globally across biopharma, medical devices, healthcare services, and life sciences since its inception in 1996. The firm manages $7.5 billion across 15 USD- and RMB-denominated funds, with a team of over 70 investment professionals operating from its US headquarters and offices across Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Singapore.
The accelerator launch aims to build “a new paradigm for innovative drug R&D” that is “dedicated to openness, global collaborations, and innovations,” said Fu Shan, Vivo Capital’s managing partner and co-CEO, who also serves as the firm’s Asia-Pacific CEO.
The accelerator seeks to work with innovative drug developers at different stages of development, including, but not limited to, the early-stage transformation from target identification to pre-clinical candidates, said Dr. David Liu, managing director of Vivo Capital.
The establishment of the accelerator in Beijing helped Vivo Capital rope in the local government’s 5-billion-yuan ($696.9 million) Zhongguancun Science City Technology Growth Fund as a new limited partner (LP) for its latest Chinese yuan fund, according to a report by Chinese media outlet PEdaily.cn.
Vivo Accelerator has also reportedly taken in two innovative drug projects since its creation. It is said to target supporting at least 4-5 new projects per year, according to the report.
