FAST NEWS: Biotech Startup Sciwind Lands $70 Million in New Funding

The latest: Biotech startup Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd. announced it has closed its third funding round, raising 450 million yuan ($70 million). New backers in the latest round included Chinese investor Loyal Valley Capital, as well as veteran investor IDG Capital, according to a company announcement on Tuesday.

Looking Up: Sciwind’s latest funding comes just eight months after it completed a previous round, its B-Round, in which it raised $37 million. Such rapid funding is relatively common for Chinese drug startups, though also indicates strong investor interest in the company, which specializes in protein/peptide drugs.

Take Note: The company said it will use the new funding to assist in clinical trials for its drugs to treat chronic metabolic and immunological diseases in China, the U.S., Australia and Latin America. Such trials are critical but also costly, meaning Sciwind will most likely soon require more money.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2017, Sciwind is one of a growing number of Chinese biotech startups developing drugs for China and the rest of the world. Concurrent with the latest fundraising, Sciwind also announced two new senior appointments, one with previous experience at Eli Lilly’s China operation and the other with experience at Novartis and Gilead Sciences. 

Market Reaction: Companies like Sciwind are highly dependent on venture capital for their early activity, and are attractive to investors because of the big potential of the China drug market. Such companies frequently make IPOs in Hong Kong relatively early in their development.