Eddingpharm (Cayman) Inc. Announces Closing of Series B Funding

WANCHAI, Hong Kong, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Eddingpharm (Cayman) Inc., a leading specialty pharmaceutical marketing company focused on the China market, today announced the closing of a US$24 million Series B financing, co-led by OrbiMed Advisors Caduceus Asia Partners Fund and Domain Associates.  Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund also participated in the financing.  The financing will be used primarily for in-licensing of drugs from suppliers across the globe and co-development of new prescription drugs for sale in China, as well as to seek potential M&A opportunities.  William Blair & Company, LLC acted as placement agent for the transaction.  

"We are excited about our investment in Eddingpharm as the company has built a world-class sales organization in China, a market we feel has tremendous growth potential," said Dr. Nancy T. Chang, Chairman and Senior Managing Director of OrbiMed's Caduceus Asia Partners Fund.  "We are impressed by Eddingpharm's management team.  They have strong capabilities to execute and deliver results. They have established a solid product pipeline and generated several strategic partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies that can assure and accelerate the future growth of the company. As a new investor, we look forward to working with the company to achieve a greater upside."

"We feel the future is very bright for Eddingpharm and are delighted at the opportunity to be able to make this investment," said Dr. Brian Halak, partner at Domain Associates.  "Eddingpharm has grown into a full commercialization service provider for domestic and multinational pharmaceutical companies. We see an exciting opportunity here, with both the explosive growth in the China healthcare markets, as well as Eddingpharm's potential to execute strategic partnerships to co-develop prescription drugs to secure greater upside in the future."

"We are excited to bring on three new investors with the caliber and expertise of OrbiMed, Domain and Sequoia," said Xin Ni, founder and CEO of Eddingpharm.  "As we have built Eddingpharm into a leading pharmaceuticals marketing company over the past eight years, with the highest penetration and coverage of leading hospitals, the most efficient health care marketing/sales solutions, and a highly demanded and diversified product portfolio, this investment will help take us to the next level. We are well-positioned to take advantage of the fast growing healthcare market in China and continue to actively seek new products suitable for this market."

Both Dr. Chang and Dr. Halak will join the board of Eddingpharm in connection with this transaction.  

About Eddingpharm (Cayman) Inc.

Eddingpharm, headquartered in Shanghai, is a leading specialty pharmaceuticals company in the fast growing China market. The Company is focused on medical nutrition and oncology therapeutic areas and became a leading commercialization platform for pharmaceutical products in China. To date, Eddingpharm has been granted exclusive market rights of more than 16 products and achieved outstanding performance on marketed products through its 23 district offices reaching over 1000 hospitals in China.  Eddingpharm has become the partner of choice for multiple global pharmaceutical companies and continues to expand further alliance opportunities with international partners. Additionally, the Company is currently building R&D and manufacturing capabilities through strategic alliances, enabling it to develop customized pipeline best fitted for Chinese healthcare market.

For more information, please visit: www.eddingpharm.com

About OrbiMed Advisors

OrbiMed is the world's largest healthcare-dedicated investment firm, with approximately US$5 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed's investment advisory business was founded in 1989 with a vision to invest across the spectrum of healthcare companies: from private start-ups to large multinational companies. OrbiMed manages the Caduceus Private Investments series of venture capital funds and a family of public equity investment funds.

OrbiMed's investment team includes over 35 experienced professionals with backgrounds in science, medicine, industry, finance and law. The firm's diverse team of professionals has a unique understanding of industry dynamics through active participation in both public and private companies. Our professionals work together in a collaborative, team-oriented approach which seamlessly integrates our public and private equity platforms. OrbiMed seeks to be the capital provider of choice for life sciences companies pursuing growth and new opportunities. Where appropriate, particularly within its venture capital funds, OrbiMed supports its portfolio companies in achieving strategic, financial and operational objectives via participation at the Board of Directors level. OrbiMed professionals currently serve on the Board of Directors of dozens of different life sciences companies.

For more information, please visit: www.orbimed.com

About Domain Associates

Founded in 1985, Domain Associates, L.L.C. is a venture capital firm with an exclusive focus on life sciences. With $2.5 billion of capital under management, Domain is headquartered in Princeton, NJ with a second office in San Diego, CA.

Domain's three major investment segments are pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, while additional areas of interest include biomaterials, bioinstrumentation, and diagnostics.  The Partners of Domain have a total of close to 200 person-years of experience among them in the healthcare/venture capital industries and have been involved in the formation and growth of more than 220 life-sciences companies.  The highly focused network, experience, and reputation of this team have made it one of the top private-equity groups participating in the healthcare field.

For more information, please visit: www.domainvc.com

About Sequoia Capital

Since 1972, Sequoia Capital has provided early stage and growth stage funding for very smart founders and executives who have turned great ideas into sustainable companies of enduring value. As the "Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs", Sequoia Capital's Partners have worked with accomplished innovators and operators who built great franchises such as Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Ameritox, Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, CV Therapeutics, eCardio Diagnostics, Flextronics, Google, Network Appliance, nVidia, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Oracle, Oxford Health Plans, PayPal, Ventritex (now part of St. Jude Medical), Yahoo!, YouTube, and Zappos.

For more information, please visit: www.sequoiacap.com

SOURCE Eddingpharm