JINAN, China & PHILADELPHIA
KBP Biosciences, a private clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need, today announced the closing of a $76 million Series A financing. The financing was co-led by Advantech Capital and SDIC Venture Capital, with participation from Sangel Capital, Ping An Ventures, Bay City Capital GF XINDE Life Science Investment Fund, Efung Capital, CASH Capital, Cowin Capital Group, Korea Investment Partners and Elite Capital. The proceeds from the Series A will be used to expand the business and operational structure of the company, including the opening of global corporate headquarters in the Greater Philadelphia Area, to advance the clinical development of its lead candidate KBP-5074, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist for cardiovascular disease entering Phase 2b; and to support other promising programs in the pipeline.
KBP Biosciences, founded by serial entrepreneur Dr. Zhen Hua Huang in Jinan, China, has developed a medicinal chemistry platform and world-class preclinical development team to identify and progress products with known mechanisms of action in areas of unmet medical need in cardiovascular, infectious disease, respiratory, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In addition to KBP-5074, the Company has several candidates in preclinical and early-stage clinical development, including KBP-7072, a 3G aminomethylcycline for multi-resistant bacterial infections that has completed Phase 1 and has received Qualified Infectious Disease Product and Fast Track designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and KBP-7026, a novel CRTH2 receptor antagonist targeting asthma/COPD with an approved IND and ready to enter Phase 1 clinical development.
“We are pleased to have attracted this funding from prestigious investors to expand and establish a global presence and maximize the value of our scientific platform and clinical programs,” said Dr. Zhen Hua Huang, Founder and Chairman, Board of Directors, KBP Biosciences. “We are excited to welcome Brian McVeigh to the company as his leadership skills and experience building and leading multi-national organizations, vast knowledge of the international pharmaceutical industry, track record for delivery and business development acumen will help us grow KBP into a global company with the capability to leverage the programs in our pipeline through external collaborations.”
Brian McVeigh held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within the global Business Development, Finance, Marketing, Corporate and R&D organizations at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) throughout his 25-year career. He was most recently the Vice President of Worldwide Business Development Transactions and Investment Management where he personally led the assessment, negotiation and execution of over two-dozen significant business development transactions and directed a global team that delivered on the execution of over 100 business development transactions. He also managed GSK’s portfolio of R&D equity investments in biotech partners and early-stage venture capital funds totaling >$500 million of invested and committed capital which delivered >$650 million of realized financial returns while under his leadership.
Mr. McVeigh holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting and Finance from LaSalle University, an MBA with a Concentration in Finance from Villanova University, a Post MBA Certificate in Pharmaceutical Marketing from Saint Joseph’s University and a CPD from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Licensing Professional.
“This is an incredibly exciting time to join KBP Biosciences,” said Brian McVeigh. “The infusion of capital from the Series A will enable us to rapidly pursue our vision of growing KBP from its roots as a China-based preclinical development organization into a truly global enterprise with world-class clinical development and commercialization capabilities driving the delivery of important new medicines to patients. We plan to advance KBP-5074 into Phase 2b clinical trials in early 2018, launch our new global headquarters in the US, augment our preclinical development team based in China, and continue to develop our robust pipeline of innovative NCEs targeting areas of unmet medical need through strategic business development opportunities and collaborations.”
The establishment of the global headquarters in the Greater Philadelphia Area allows KBP to access the exceptional talent base in the region which uniquely includes scientific and business graduates from top universities, experienced biotech entrepreneurs and leading experts in pharmaceutical R&D and commercialization with extensive experience gained by working for global pharmaceutical companies. “I look forward to leading an exceptionally diverse team that brings together the strength of our established preclinical development team in China with the clinical development, commercialization and corporate team we are building in the US to deliver the value of our current and future pipeline and to bring important new medicines to patients in need around the world,” continued Mr. McVeigh.
“Our investment in KBP Biosciences provides us the opportunity to work with an established biotechnology company in China with a strong science platform, including an impressive small molecule library and bacteria collection, which is attractive to potential partners with the commercial expertise to bring these medicines to market quickly and efficiently,” said Benjamin Yumin Qiu, Partner with Advantech Capital.
“We are proud to invest in KBP, which has made great strides in the discovery of promising candidates for cardiovascular and infectious diseases, and we hope this relationship will support the advancement of China’s domestic innovation and broaden its role in the global healthcare market,” said Jianping Tang, Head of Healthcare Team, SDIC Venture Capital.
“KBP is an example of a cross border investment which combines a strong China based scientific discovery team led by a successful serial entrepreneur with a US development and commercial team with great experience in finance and strategic alliances,” said Fred Craves, Managing Director of Bay City Capital.
About Series A Investors
Advantech Capital
Advantech Capital, launched in January 2016 by Mr. Jianming Yu, is a private equity fund, focused on innovation-driven growth capital in China. For more information, visit www.advantechcapital.com.
SDIC Venture Capital
SDIC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. is an independent private equity fund management company established in 2016 that currently advises and manages over RMB 12 billion of capital for three funds to support the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. For more information, visit www.sdicvc.com/.
Sangel Capital
Sangel Capital Management Co., Ltd. is a pioneering well established bio-medical venture capital firm in China that invests in high-tech startups in the biomedical field, including biopharma, medical device, biotech and healthcare IT with an emphasis on innovative and fast-growing companies. For more information, visit www.sangelvc.com/en/.
Ping An Ventures
Ping An Ventures is the direct investment arm under Ping An Insurance (Group) and invests in innovation enterprises with a specific focus on growth-and late-stage healthcare companies. For more information, visit www.pinganventures.com.
Bay City Capital
Founded in 1997, Bay City Capital LLC is a life sciences investment firm with a global diversified strategy ranging from seed stage to public companies, and including innovation, restructuring opportunities and growth investing. For more information, visit www.baycitycapital.com.
GF XINDE
GF XINDE Investment Management is a leading Venture Capital firm in China since 2008 and is a full subsidiary of GF Securities Group (1776. HK;000766.SZ). For more information, visit www.gfxdtz.icoc.in.
Efung Capital
Efung Capital was established in 2007 and focuses on the investment of new drug and high-end medical devices and has continued to launch one to two funds and invest in six to eight projects per year. For more information, visit www.efung.cc/.
CASH Capital
Founded in 2011, CASH Capital (Beijing) Investment Management Co, Ltd. is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in TMT and healthcare sectors and is the only venture capital platform under Chinese Academy of Science Holdings that manages assets on behalf of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the world’s largest scientific research institution. For more information, visit www.cashcapital.cn.
Cowin Capital Group
Cowin Capital Group was established in June 2000 as China’s first professional private equity investment company, which has invested in more than 300 companies, of which 56 became public companies and 140 completed successful exits. For more information, visit www.cowincapital.com.cn./
Korea Investment Partners
Korea Investment Partners is a leading venture capital and private equity firm in Korea that has over 30 years of experience in providing venture capital to bold and innovative entrepreneurs who want to change the world. For more information, visit www.kipvc.com.
Elite Capital
Based in Shanghai, China, Elite Capital is the only global independent third-party investment fund company focusing on cancer within the healthcare industry. For more information, visit www.oncocapital.com.
About KBP Biosciences
KBP Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the research and development of innovative medicines that treat unmet medical needs of patients throughout the world. Based on cutting edge new drug development ideas and its own medicinal chemistry and CMC strengths, together with internal/external clinical development and regulatory expertise, the company devotes its resources towards identifying and progressing innovative NCEs with known mechanisms of action in validated targets for the treatment of patients with unmet medical needs in cardio-renal, infectious disease, respiratory, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Founded in Jinan, China with global headquarters in the Greater Philadelphia Area, KBP’s three clinical stage compounds have all obtained US FDA and Chinese CFDA IND approvals. The lead program, KBP-5074, is a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist for cardiovascular disease including uncontrolled hypertension in advanced chronic kidney disease that will enter Phase 2b clinical trials in the US in early 2018. For more information, visit www.kbpbiosciences.com.
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