Thousand AKS Biopharmaceuticals just completed its series A funding total at CNY 300 million (USD 44 million) led by New Alliance Capital.
TOAKSB's lab. Photo: TOAKSB official site
January 1, 2019 /EqualOcean/ - Thousand OAKS Biopharmaceuticals(TOAKSB) just completed its series A funding total at CNY 300 million (USD 44 million) led by New Alliance Capital and followed by Addor Capital(毅达资本), TenYall Investment(天汇苏民投), Beyond Fund(秉鸿资本), Qianrong Capital(江苏乾融资本), Jilin Aodong Pharma(吉林敖东药业), and Blue Bay Capital(蓝湾科创资本). The raised funding will be used in upgrading TOAKSB’s CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) capability. According to public information, TOAKSB’s last funding series was closed in 2017.
TOASKB is a biopharmaceutical company focuses on CMC (Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls) bio-manufacturing. CDMO service providers are mainly involved in three processes in pharmaceutical production chains: development, which including drug development, sourcing, process analytics, etc., API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) production and formulation.
The company can offer one-stop solutions for its clients, which include development, production, logistics, tech support and after service. CMO and CDMO companies are a critical ring in the pharmaceutical industry as they reduce the risk of over capacities embedded in new drug R&D, especially when the drug fails in a late phase of clinical research trial, accelerate R&D process and provide backup capacity.
In 2016, CMO/CDMO’s global market size had reached USD 62 billion, while in China the market size was USD 3.97 billion. China’s CMO/CDMO’s market is expected to exceed USD 9.2 billion with an estimated CAGR at 18.32%.Regarding the plan on experimental changes to the drug licensing system issued by the State Council of the PRC in 2016, drug research and development agencies and researchers can directly apply for licenses to mass produce the drugs they developed, which gives incentive for the development of CMO/CDMO industry.
Founded in March 2017, TOAKSB finished the base construction and put facilities in operation under CDA and USDA’s GMP standards within a year. On the same day as the series A funding secured, culture medium factory II of Jianshun Biopharmaceutical(建顺生物), TOAKSB’s sub-company, broke ground and is expected to be put in use in the second half of the year 2019.
The pharmaceutical market has changed, and the time predominated by some exclusive drugs has long gone. The change brought by encouraging policies and the influence cast by the global trend give China’s pharmaceutical industry, especially for CMO/CDMO enterprises, opportunities and we could expect a new phase of the pharmaceutical industry.