In 2010, the Wellcome Trust Investment Division led an initial Series A $30 million financing. This enabled us to develop our initial mouse platforms and create value through the development of an in-house therapeutic antibody portfolio and build partnerships with other companies.
Our Series B financing commenced in 2014 when the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust invested $40 million in Kymab and closed in 2015, when Schroder UK Public Private Trust plc (formerly Woodford Patient Capital Trust plc), the Woodford Equity Income Fund and Malin Corporation plc invested US$50 million. We secured $100 million in November 2016, with investment from ORI Fund and Hepalink as well as follow-on investments from existing shareholders.
Two of our long-term investors, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, are the World’s largest healthcare charities, which hold combined funds of over $68 billion.
We completed our Series C financing in November 2016, securing $100 million investment from ORI Fund and Hepalink, as well as follow-on investments from existing shareholders. In 2019 we completed a $60 million convertible preference share financing with a $30 million investment from LifeArc, a leading UK medical research charity, as well as investment from existing shareholders.
These investments in turn enabled us to develop our platform, establish a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies and advance our pipeline into the clinic.
We have, in parallel and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, conducted antibody and vaccine R&D in numerous partnerships focused on infectious diseases, which inflict suffering on people in resource poor countries.
Wellcome exists to improve health by helping great ideas to thrive.
We support researchers, we take on big health challenges, we campaign for better science, and we help everyone get involved with science and health research. We are a politically and financially independent foundation.
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Dr Susan Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr, under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Malin (ISE:MLC) is a company investing in highly innovative life sciences companies. Its purpose is to create shareholder value through the application of long-term capital and operational and strategic expertise to a diverse range of global healthcare businesses. Malin has a focus on innovative businesses underpinned by exceptional science and works with its investee companies, providing strategic and financial support to enable them to reach their value potential. Malin is headquartered and domiciled in Ireland and listed on Euronext Dublin.
Schroder UK Public Private Trust plc's investment objective is to achieve long-term capital growth through investing in a diversified portfolio with a focus on UK companies, both quoted and unquoted. As these companies evolve, the geographical profile of the portfolio may also change to become more global in nature for reasons such as an overseas listing or as the result of changes to the capital value of a non-UK company.
ORI Healthcare Fund (ORI Fund)
ORI Fund is a US$200 million venture capital fund focused on investing in innovative companies with disruptive technologies in the healthcare industry globally. The fund is founded by Ms. Simone (Hong Fang) Song, former investment banker and head of China Healthcare at Goldman Sachs. The team consists mostly of former Goldman Sachs bankers and healthcare scientists.
Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd
Hepalink distributes its products, including Heparin Sodium API, in the global market to international pharmaceutical companies, such as Sanofi-Aventis, Fresenius-Kabi, and Novartis. Hepalink was established in 1998 and went public and was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on May 6, 2010 (stock code 002399). Hepalink’s headquarters are located in the Shenzhen High-Tech Park. Hepalink has established a comprehensive quality management system in line with China GMP standards and the US and European cGMP standards and regulations. Hepalink manufacturing facilities are approved by the US FDA and EU regulatory authorities, and it is also one of the primary participants in the revision of the USP pharmacopeia standards.