GIBF Supports BioVersys AG in expanding into the Chinese market as part of its global Antimicrobial Resistance (“AMR”) and tuberculosis strategy
September 11, 2024
Guangzhou Sino-Israel Bio-Industry Investment Fund 2 (LLP) (“GIBF") announced today that it has successfully participated in the Series C+ round of financing of the Swiss-based company, BioVersys AG, with a total investment amount of 6 million US dollars (approx. 42.5 million RMB). This investment marks a further deepening of GIBF in the global field of antimicrobial resistance. At the same time, BioVersys AG has settled its Chinese Headquarters in Guangzhou International Bio-Island to strengthen the close connection with the Chinese market and accelerate the clinical progress of the company's products, focusing on the Chinese national fight against AMR and tuberculosis.
The investment of GIBF in this round of financing of BioVersys AG will mainly be used for the clinical development of the company's drug pipeline (that includes BV100, addressing deadly Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infections, which have become a major issue in China), and the team building of the Chinese company, to create a new matrix of antibiotic products for various indications.
BioVersys AG's R&D capabilities and innovative pipeline have been recognized by a leading MNC pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and the two parties are cooperating in developing alpibectir for treating tuberculosis. In January 2023, the world's largest public-private investment fund in the field of antimicrobial resistance, the AMR Action Fund, invested in BioVersys AG, which was also the first investment of this fund in Europe. Since its establishment, BioVersys AG has successfully raised about CHF130 million in equity and non-dilutive funding.
The Chinese market is urgently in need of new, efficient, and low-drug resistance antimicrobial drugs for the hospital setting and for tuberculosis, and BioVersys AG's advanced clinical pipeline of BV100 and alpibectir has great potential in this huge and growing market.
This investment of GIBF in BioVersys AG is another important result of the strong support by the Guangzhou Municipal Government and Huangpu District in developing innovative bio-pharmaceutical industry in Guangzhou, marking a solid step for Guangzhou in introducing international high-quality projects and promoting the development of the local life science industry. The introduction of BioVersys AG by GIBF and its investment in the company, not only provide a bridge for BioVersys AG to enter the Chinese market, but also bring advanced bio-pharmaceutical technology and management experience to Guangzhou, helping to enhance Guangzhou's competitiveness in the global bio-pharmaceutical field. Through such investments, GIBF is continuously strengthening the construction of Guangzhou's bio-pharmaceutical ecosystem, promoting the collaborative development of the industry chain, and providing strong support for Guangzhou in building an international bio-pharmaceutical innovation highland. At the same time, it will further attract more excellent enterprises and talents from home and abroad to gather in Guangzhou, jointly promoting the prosperity and development of Guangzhou's bio-pharmaceutical industry.
About Guangzhou Sino-Israel Bio-Industry Investment Fund 2 (LLP)
Guangzhou Sino-Israel Bio-Industry Investment Fund (GIBF) was established in 2016 at the Guangzhou International Bio-Island, funded by the Guangzhou Municipal Government and its state-owned enterprises. GIBF is the first RMB investment fund in China managed by a joint Sino-Israeli team, focusing on the medical field. GIBF's 606 million RMB first fund had invested in 12 leading international and Israeli companies in the fields of medical devices and digital health. At the end of 2021, despite the severe epidemic, the management team of GIBF received strong support from Guangzhou High-tech Zone Investment Group and Guangzhou International Bio-Island Group, and completed a first closing of GIBF's second fund with a set scale of 1.8 billion RMB. GIBF2 focuses on investing in international innovative drug companies in clinical phases.
About BioVersys AG
BioVersys AG is a multi-asset, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing novel antibacterial products for serious life-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant (“MDR”) bacteria. Derived from the company’s two internal technology platforms (TRIC and Ansamycin Chemistry), candidates are designed and developed to overcome resistance mechanisms, block virulence production and directly affect the pathogenesis of harmful bacteria towards the identification of new treatment options in the antimicrobial and microbiome fields. This enables BioVersys AG to address the high unmet medical need for new treatments against life-threatening resistant bacterial infections and bacteria-exacerbated chronic inflammatory microbiome disorders. The company’s most advanced research and development programs address nosocomial infections of Acinetobacter baumannii (BV100, Phase 2), and tuberculosis (alpibectir, Phase 2a, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and a consortium of the University of Lille, France). BioVersys AG is located in the biotech hub of Basel, Switzerland.