China’s ‘precision medicine’ initiative gets lift from latest genomics company funding
Yunfeng Capital, Temasek lead US$75 million Series B funding round in contract genomics services provider Wuxi NextCode
Mainland’s China’s bid to become a superpower in the nascent field of precision medicine took another step forward this week after genomics information specialist WuXi NextCode, part of Shanghai-based pharmaceutical and technology group WuXi AppTec, closed a US$75 million Series B funding round.
Yunfeng Capital, a Chinese private equity firm co-founded by Alibaba Group executive chairman Jack Ma Yun, and Singapore investment company Temasek, led the new financing, according to a statement on Tuesday from WuXi NextCode.
The company said the proceeds raised will be used to advance the commercialisation of its consumer solutions for the mainland Chinese market, strengthen its global leadership in the science of processing data known as informatics, and expand its capabilities in artificial intelligence and so-called deep learning technologies.
The latest investment in WuXi NextCode reflects the increased commercial interest on the mainland in precision medicine – customised health care based on the genetic make-up, medical history and lifestyle of a patient – amid this field’s inclusion as a key development focus under China’s 13th Five-Year Plan.
In March last year, the central government launched the China Precision Medicine Initiative, a 15-year project with US$9.2 billion in funding that aims to build up the country’s credentials as a global leader in precision medicine.
That followed the Obama administration’s launch in 2015 of the US Precision Medicine Initiative, which had a US$215 million investment to support research, development and innovation.