Swiss biotech firms hike investment footprint
Swiss biotechnology companies are stepping up expansion and investments in China, eyeing its huge market potential and improved policies to accommodate foreign capital, said executives and industry mavens.
Bettina Ernst, a board member of Switzerland-based Versameb, said the pharmaceutical company is enthusiastic about collaboration opportunities in China, aimed at serving the immense demand for treatment of stress urinary incontinence, or SUI.
SUI refers to involuntary leakage of urine during day-to-day activities and is believed to affect about one in three women during their lifetime. Versameb proposes a pharmaceutical treatment for SUI that is in the clinical stage, in the form of next-generation mRNA to restore muscle tissue.
Having decided to establish operations in Beijing and leading further clinical trials in the nation, Versameb aims to bring solutions to people in need in China as well as across the Asian region, Ernst said.
"At this stage, investments up to $25 million are discussed to achieve upcoming milestones, including those related to the clinical trial," she added.
Ernst made the remarks on the sidelines of the China-Swiss Companies Investment Cooperation Exchange last week. Versameb was one of the over 20 Swiss biomedical companies that participated in the event.
The event, focusing on fostering investment and collaboration in the fields of life sciences and biomedicine, attracted over 80 enterprises from the two countries and was jointly organized by the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau and Cedrus Group, a Swiss international financial group.
Demonstrating the interest of Swiss life sciences companies in exploring opportunities in research and development, market expansion and production in China, the exchange saw the signing of three agreements between participating companies and Cedrus.
These partnerships will foster cross-border growth, as Beijing Dachao Biotechnology Co Ltd will invest and pursue market expansion in Switzerland, while Swiss companies Orexa and Kadence Bio will establish operations in Beijing.
Ard Peeters, Orexa's CEO, said that the clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to increase food intake is excited to bring its innovative treatment to the Chinese market.
"We look forward to working with Cedrus as our partner in initiating clinical trials in China as well as collaborating with China's research institutions," Peeters said.
Rani Jarkas, chairman of Cedrus Group, said, "We see firsthand that Swiss and other global companies have significant interest in investing and expanding in the Chinese market.
"This is driven by supportive policies, a capable workforce, world-class infrastructure, and a large addressable market," Jarkas said, with the event serving as a catalyst to transform this interest into tangible deal-making and commitments.
China has vowed to further open up the biomedicine sector in an action plan that outlined 20 measures to stabilize foreign investment this year. The action plan was released by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Wednesday.
The plan promises to support eligible foreign-funded enterprises in participating in pilot programs for segmented production of biological products, facilitating faster market approval for innovative drugs and enhancing the predictability of medical device procurement.
Biomedicine has emerged as a new driver of China's foreign direct investment inflows, as foreign capital used in pharmaceutical manufacturing increased by 68.4 percent year-on-year in January, said the Ministry of Commerce.
Overall, China utilized 97.59 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) in foreign capital last month, marking a 13.4 percent year-on-year decline but a 27.5 percent month-on-month rebound, the ministry said.
Dong Yilang contributed to this story.
