BioPro Pharmaceutical, Inc, the first fully-integrated, oncology focused biopharmaceutical company in the Asia/Pacific region, announced today from its San Francisco headquarters the successful purchase of 80% ownership of Nexmed Medical Co., Ltd., a Chinese distributor of pharmaceutical products based in Beijing. The new company, a joint venture under Chinese law, will be known as BioPro Pharmaceutical China, Ltd. (BioPro China). BioPro Pharmaceutical, Inc. has operational infrastructure in place in major countries in Asia, focused on this major regional market of US$30 billion. BioPro’s expertise lies in its providing creative pharmaceutical licensing and distribution for small and medium-sized US and European companies by addressing the pharmaceutical needs of the Asia-Pacific region. With the knowledge and know-how of the clinical and regulatory requirements across the Asian region, the Company is able to market & sell products through its network of professional sales representatives in major Asian markets from Korea through Thailand.
Nexmed, founded in 1989, with revenue of approximately US$9 million in 2005 distributes a range of pharmaceutical products and provides logistical and sales marketing services for Chinese pharmaceutical companies and a number of hospitals, mainly in the region around Beijing where its main office is located. The company employs 25 people at its head office in addition to more than 60 professional sales representatives. With the benefit of access to US-licensed products via BioPro Pharmaceutical, BioPro China (the new name of Nexmed Medical Co.) is being restructured to become the most professional specialty oncology products company in China.
BioPro China will be organized in two divisions: The logistics division will continue to provide logistical services to hospitals in Beijing and increasingly in the other major urban areas of China, in part by licensing additional products from both Chinese and international pharmaceutical companies. The new oncology division will pursue Chinese regulatory approvals of two products licensed by BioPro Pharmaceutical for Asia: Gliadel, a brain cancer treatment, and Vantas, a prostate cancer drug. The new oncology division intends to become the preeminent cancer specialty biopharmaceutical company not only in China and around the region. ,
BioPro Pharmaceutical, Inc., the US parent company of BioPro China, recently closed a $5 million Series A Preferred equity round wholly taken up by two private equity funds managed by Sanders Morris Harris (SMH) Group. These same investors hold an option to provide an additional $5.0 million equity capital if needed by the Company In addition to the recent acquisition of a majority interest in BioPro China, BioPro Pharmaceutical is pursuing many additional licensing opportunities in North America and Europe for distribution in Asia.
“The acquisition of a majority interest in the BioPro China is a cornerstone of our Asia-wide network of companies with sales/marketing capabilities in the Asia region,” said Peter Huang, Chairman and CEO of BioPro Pharmaceutical Inc. ‘We can now serve the needs of this very large market, providing oncology and other products that were previously unavailable in China. We are simultaneously providing an opportunity for small and medium sized pharmaceutical companies in North America and Europe to have their products marketed in China and the Asia region.” Mr. Huang was previously Senior Vice President of SmithKline Beecham in Asia, and initiated Tianjin SmithKline & French’s (TSKF) operations in China in 1988, the year before the former Nexmed was started. TKSF has since developed into a major pharmaceutical company in China,
BioPro Pharmaceutical Contact: Charles H. Adams, Chief Financial Officer Tel: (415) 383-8699 chuck@biopropharm.com
