The Biotechnology Capital Markets in Asia Pacific Region

We are seeing do a rapid increase of biotechnology venture capital firms emerging in Asia, also, increasing number of medical companies in the region establishing their own investment firms.

Japan remains as the biggest investor from the region '" with financial institutions and biotechnology investment firms as affiliates or subsidiaries attached to its medical and electronic companies.

China is an emerging market, although, most of the investments thus far are being made by its medical companies, instead of purpose setup investment vehicle. However, Chinese medical companies should be considered as strategic investment partners, especially if you have a large-scale M&A deal involved. The Chinese sovereign funds thus far have been very quiet in investing in medical / biotechnology sectors.

Koreans and Singaporeans '" by comparison, are totally different, their sovereign funds and private investments funds are both very active in investing in international biotechnology opportunities; both into drugs developments & medical devices.

Global Investors also increasing their stake in Asian markets

Yes, we would strongly suggest capital seekers to consider investors outside the region. Over the past 3 years, we have seen significant investments made by North American and European venture capital firms into opportunities in Asia Pacific.

In addition, even some Middle East investment funds have participated in medical companies in Australia, China, Japan and also Malaysia.

Israeli investors have been very active in investing into medical companies in China, India and some in Singapore as well.

UK investors have been very active for many years, mainly in China, Australia, and SE Asia; they are also one of the earliest investors in India's pharmaceutical industry as well.

American investors (mainly US companies), not only they have invested in Asian opportunities, companies like Eli Lily, Johnson & Johnson have their own investments and R&D facilities based in Asia Pacific region as well.

If you are a Medical Devices company, sometimes you can get good attention from Asian investment firms. Also, it depends on the project you are researching on, as we have mentioned previously, if your research relates to certain diseases, you can receive a lot of interests from Asian investors.

Good examples are bowel cancer (Japan), liver cancer (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong), skin cancer (Australia); or medical devices such as optometry related technologies (investors in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China) or medical imaging devices (Japanese investors).