According to the Star Daily on December 9 (Reporter Yu Shiqi), Wuxi Apptec (603259.SH, 02359.HK) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary has signed a subscription agreement with Jeito Capital S.A.S. to subscribe for Class A shares of the Jeito II S.L.P. investment fund amounting to 20 million euros (approximately 0.1525 billion yuan).

It is reported that Jeito Capital is an investment institution headquartered in france, founded by Dr. Rafaèle Tordjman, focusing on european biopharmaceutical companies. The therapeutic areas of investment include immuno-oncology, ophthalmology, rare skeletal diseases, severe respiratory diseases, fibrosis, and related cancers.

The "Jeito II S.L.P." that Wuxi Apptec plans to invest in is its new phase fund, with a target total scale not exceeding 1.2 billion euros, having raised approximately 0.387 billion euros. The fund plans to invest in innovative enterprises with the potential to become leaders in the global therapeutic field, focusing on biopharmaceuticals and early-stage companies with clear clinical needs and commercialization potential, with the expectation of investing in 14-17 innovative medical startups.

The Star Daily reporter noted that Jeito Capital is an emerging investment institution in the biomedical field, receiving considerable attention in europe. The institution was established in 2018, and in September 2021, it completed the fundraising of a phase one fund, raising a total of 0.534 billion euros, receiving strategic support from the French Public Investment Bank (BPI), attracting investors including the European Investment Fund (EIF) and Temasek, and was also the first French investment fund to receive investment from Sanofi.

From its investment activities, Jeito Capital's investment strategy has performed quite well. The official website shows that Jeito Capital has currently initiated 15 projects. Among its invested projects, several companies have been acquired by multinational pharmaceutical companies, such as Negoene Therapeutics (a preclinical biotechnology company developing personalized frontier T-cell therapies for various cancers) which was acquired by AstraZeneca at the beginning of 2023 for a total consideration of 0.32 billion dollars; EyeBio (a breakthrough eye disease therapy company) was acquired by Merck this year for a total consideration of up to 3 billion dollars; HI-Bio (a phase II clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies for patients with severe immune-mediated diseases (IMD)) was acquired by Biogen for a total consideration of 1.8 billion dollars in July of this year.

Practitioners of dual-currency funds said to the Star Daily that historically, dollar-backed financial investors have made many investments in overseas VC institutions, but with changes in the overall environment, investment in many areas has been restricted by currency, leading to a gradual decrease in LPs laying out overseas funds. However, Wuxi Apptec is different from typical LPs; it is a listed company with multinational business operations, possessing the capability to access overseas resources, and its investment logic is closer to industry investment. Return considerations not only include financial returns but also emphasize the synergy with its business.

Wuxi Apptec stated in the announcement that its investment aim is because the innovative enterprises in the biomedical field that Jeito Capital focuses on represent an important potential clientele for Wuxi Apptec. This investment can enhance Wuxi Apptec's deep understanding of the latest developments in the european biomedical field, providing forward-looking guidance for the company's expansion in the european market.

It is worth noting that europe is the fastest growing region for wuxi apptec at present. Its Q3 2024 report shows that revenue from european clients was 3.53 billion yuan during the reporting period, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%. Although the total scale is lower than that of the usa and china, the growth rate is the highest. In contrast, revenue from usa clients, excluding specific commercial production projects, grew by 7.6% year-on-year in the first three quarters; revenue from china clients decreased by 3.9% year-on-year.

Previously, wuxi apptec had planned to invest 10 million euros in the fund under the well-known biotechnology investment institution Sofinnova Partners in europe, with investment targets also focused on early-stage biomedical companies in europe.