TH Capital invests in Saifu Pharmaceutical Research Institute Co., Ltd., the leading CRO and backbone of China's innovative drug industry
Beijing, 23 September 2021 – Saifu Pharmaceutical Research Institute Co., Ltd. (SAFE Pharma) recently announced the completion of its RMB 300 million Series C funding round. TH Capital is excited to complete the second investment in the highly attractive CRO space alongside well known institutions such as CICC Qide, Guangfa Qianhe, and Baotai Biotechnology.
The proceeds of this round will mainly be used to enhance the service capabilities of SAFE Pharma’s innovative, one-stop CRO platform, and increase the firm’s production capacity.
SAFE Pharma was founded in 2016 by a team of researchers with strong scientific backgrounds from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In only 4 years since its establishment, the firm has secured some of the most sophisticated customers in the Chinese biotech and pharma industry and received investment from the most reputable investment institutions.
The CRO industry grows rapidly providing the "picks and shovels" for biotech and pharma industry, yet companies with excellent service capabilities remain extremely scarce.
TH Capital has long adhered to "top-down" industry research to find high-quality investment opportunities. In recent years, our industry research has seen the Chinese CRO industry experiencing explosive growth thanks to new therapies and technology platforms being developed downstream, including the continuous increase in the number of innovative drugs. Furthermore, China has implemented various policy reforms, supporting innovation and development in the healthcare sector, supporting CRO customers in the pharma and biotech industry.
The emergence of innovative therapies and innovative drug R&D in recent years, has accelerated growth of pre-clinical CRO services, particularly GLP safety evaluation services, that require highest technical sophistication, resulting in extreme scarcity of domestic companies with the necessary capabilities. SAFE Pharma is one of the few domestic companies with rich experience in innovative therapies, and sufficient service breadth to serve as a one-stop CRO for innovative drug developers. Compared with competitors, it has the ability to provide differentiated and high-quality services, especially for vaccines, nucleic acid drugs, cell therapies, gene therapy and other fields.
Mr. Liu Yang, Chairman and CEO of SAFE Pharma, said: “Thank you TH Capital, CICC Qide, Guangfa Qianhe, Baotai Bio, etc. for participating in our C-round fundraise and becoming shareholders of SAFE Pharma. Since its establishment, SAFE Pharma has been firmly focusing on service and technology innovation, heavy investment in cutting-edge drugs, completing technical capabilities, building an excellent team and industry leading platform. At present, SAFE Pharma has provided contract research services to domestic and foreign companies, supporting the development of vaccines, nucleic acid drugs, gene therapy, ADC, cell therapy and much more. The portfolio further includes therapeutics, polyclonal antibodies, oncolytic viruses, and other innovative drug platforms. SAFE Pharma will continue to expand its unique advantages in the field of gene therapy, large and small molecule innovative drugs, and innovative therapies. The company has implemented a dedicated partnership program, building an entrepreneurship talent platform for the innovative drug industry. We strive to become a world-class one-stop innovative drug CRO service platform and contribute to the advancement of the research, and the development of innovative drugs and therapies in China!"
TH Capital’s chairman Dr. Zhang Yang commented: “Pre-clinical safety evaluation is an extremely important step in the development of innovative drugs. The requirements for regulatory certification and quality of talent needed are extremely high. SAFE Pharma is one of the few domestic companies with a rich experience in integrated pre-clinical CRO services, a technically sophisticated team, and a strong corporate leadership. The company has grown at a speed far exceeding the industry growth rate, building an excellent reputation among their customers. TH Capital focuses on advanced manufacturing, next generation technologies and healthcare, and will continue to help more outstanding biotech companies to grow, generating attractive returns for our limited partners, and contributing to the development of China's innovative drug industry."
About SAFE Pharma
Founded in 2016, SAFE Pharma is headquartered in Beijing, with branches in Suzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Shenyang, and the United States. The company has quickly grown into one of China’s most sophisticated and reputable CRO companies. The highly renowned leadership team has built on their very specific core competences in pre-clinical GLP safety evaluation and gradually expanded their service portfolio to grow into a one-stop CRO, offering a comprehensive portfolio through a single account. Today, with a team of more than 600 scientist, including almost 50 Phds, the company is supporting domestic and international customers alike in the development of innovative drugs across all technology platforms of modern biotechnology. With a track record of several thousand successful research projects, the team has the experience and credibility to build a world leading contract research platform.
About TH Capital
TH Capital is a Beijing based private equity fund investing in Advanced Manufacturing, Next Generation Technologies, and Healthcare. Since 2007, The company has been actively investing in small and medium sized companies (SMEs) in high-growth markets in China and beyond. With more than RMB 10 billion raised and a track record of over 70 successful investments, we are one of the leading growth capital funds in China. As a recognized expert in our focus industries, we are the preferred fund manager for international investors to participate in the coming decade of hard-tech growth in China.
