GIC, the Singapore investment firm managing the state’s foreign reserves, has led a US$260 million (RMB1.653 billion) series B financing in CStone, a Chinese bio-pharmaceutical company.
GIC was joined by existing investors Oriza Seed Venture Capital, Boyu Capital, and 6 Dimensions Capital, formerly WuXi Healthcare Ventures. New investors Sequoia Capital China, Yunfeng Capital, Taikang Insurance Group, CITIC PE, ARCH Venture Partners, Hillhouse Capital and King Star Capital also participated in the round.
Founded in 2016 with headquarters in Suzhou, China, CStone is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative drugs in immuno-oncology, with its own intellectual property rights targeting China’s high-incidence cancers.
"GIC is pleased to be the lead investor in this financing round by CStone," said Choo Yong Cheen, chief investment officer of private equity at GIC. "CStone is one of China’s most innovative pharmaceutical companies, with a strong pipeline, a world-class management team and a team of clinical developers with international calibre. We are confident in the long-term growth potential of China’s biopharmaceutical industry and CStone’s leading position in the field of immuno-oncology."
The company says it will use the proceeds to further expand the company’s immune-oncology pipeline to benefit more cancer patients in China and beyond, and help accelerate the growth of China’s biopharmaceutical industry.
Established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves, GIC is a global long-term investor with well over US$100 billion in assets in over 40 countries worldwide.
