Chinese cancer therapeutics startup reveals global expansion plan at BIOAsia in Tokyo

SHARE:

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology.


Dr. Jingsong Wang speaks at BIOAsia 2017.
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

Dr. Jingsong Wang (王劲松), CEO of Harbour BioMed (和铂医药) which was started up in Shanghai last December, spoke at a luncheon at BIOAsia 2017 in Tokyo. Dr. Wang spoke of how his company was conducting research in Europe (in cooperation with Erasmus University in the Netherlands) while being at the U.S. biopharmaceutical business frontline in Massachusetts regarding immuno-oncology platforms. The company holds proprietary transgenetic mouse patents aimed at human cancer therapeutics.

Biotechnology Innovation Organization‘s annual biomed-focused confab has been held in Tokyo at the Grand Hyatt in recent years, bringing together many companies from the Asia-Pacific regions. Investment Banking Vice President Oded Spindel of the New York firm Rodman & Renshaw was the interviewer for this year’s luncheon session, the highlight of the American industrial association’s premiere Asia event, organized with help from Japan Bioindustry Association (which will be holding its own event this fall).

Dr. Jingsong Wang speaks at BIOAsia 2017.
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

It was noted by the Chinese medical doctor who also worked at multinational pharma Bristol-Myers Squibb that his startup already had some 30 clients garnered over the past several months, and had obtained backing from Boston-based VC firm Atlas Venture. Dr. Wang noted as well that the R&D networking from his days at Sanofi was being leveraged fully. Chinese VC firms Advantech Capital, affiliated with Japan’s New Horizon Capital, and Legend Capital Partners (君联资本), a subsidiary of Legend Holdings (of Lenovo fame / 联想控股), backed Harbour BioMed’s launch and expansion last year.