Nuance Biotech, a China-based specialty pharmaceutical company, has announced Series B fundraising of US$20 million with additional capital US$15 million tied to its acquisition of new products, led by C-Bridge Capital, a private equity firm focused on development and commercialization opportunities within the growing Chinese healthcare market, and Neo Zhang, Managing Director of C-Bridge Capital, will join the board of Nuance.

The Series B round prepares Nuance for the rapid expansion of portfolio of innovative pharmaceutical products, leveraging C-Bridge Capital’s extensive global network to help identify high-value licensing opportunities with established innovative global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Nuance Biotech is a leading China-based specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Shanghai. The company was established in 2014 and has rapidly built a portfolio that includes products that are already commercialized or in registration with the China Food and Drug Administration, along with an impressive pipeline of drug candidates in clinical development. Led by a team of seasoned pharmaceutical executives with a strong track record of success in China, Nuance has established a strong presence in the surgical medicine sector in China.

“This investment represents a unique funding model for building a best-in-class pharmaceutical business in China,” according to Fu Wei, Chief Executive Officer of C-Bridge Capital. “Nuance’s proven ability to move products through registration to the market along with its large sales organization and robust sales effectiveness system make it an excellent partner for commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products in China.”

The C-Bridge-Nuance partnership has already delivered results through the recently announced agreement between Nuance and US-based Pacira Pharmaceuticals to advance the development and commercialization in China of Pacira’s EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), a non-opioid agent approved in the US to provide long-lasting pain control after surgery. C-Bridge identified the opportunity to partner with Pacira and facilitated the licensing agreement.

“Our partnership with C-Bridge has already helped to build out our portfolio, and I look forward to working with their team of business development professionals to bring in additional product opportunities,” said Mark Lotter, Chief Executive Officer of Nuance. “EXPAREL is a logical addition to our portfolio given our established penetration into leading surgical hospitals in China, where 40-50 million surgical procedures are performed each year.”