FreeS Fund Healthcare Open Day Is Here: Entering the Grand Era of Biomedical Innovation

峰瑞资本·August 30, 2020

Looking for China's Genentech, Moderna, Alnylam, Spark, Nimbus Therapeutics

In China — the world's most dynamic frontier for entrepreneurship — mobile internet and chip technology have each had their "moment in the sun." We believe biopharma is now entering its own golden age, evolving from the follow-the-leader "me-too" era toward the bold ambition of "first-in-class" innovation.

FreeS Fund is firmly bullish on the development of biopharma innovation in China. We believe the country will give rise to era-defining biotech companies on par with Genentech, Moderna, Alnylam, Spark, and Nimbus Therapeutics. With that conviction, we've spent five years building our biopharma investment framework from scratch — immersing ourselves in the surging wave of biomedical innovation.

Against the backdrop of unevenly distributed medical resources across China, we invested in internet healthcare companies like Naxin Chuanglian and Hehuan Medical that tackle accessibility challenges. Confronting the long timelines and high costs of drug discovery, we backed CRO platforms like XtalPi and MetiS Pharm that leverage AI and other emerging technologies to accelerate R&D. We then expanded into IVD, medical devices, and biotech, backing companies including Singleron, Coyote Bioscience, and Bluepha. Now, as the drug development value chain matures, we're investing in innovative therapeutics companies such as JeniVision, Luosheng Biotech, and Boyin Biotech.

FreeS Fund biopharma investment portfolio — swipe to see more 👉

We look forward to entering this grand era of biopharma innovation together with more of you. On September 12 at 9:30 AM Beijing time, we'll host a biopharma-focused Open Day in Beijing. If you're studying or working in biopharma overseas, we welcome you to drop by FreeS and join the deep dive. (If you're still abroad, you can also join via video conference.)

Our speakers that day include Feng Shu (FreeS Fund founding partner Li Feng, who has spent a decade doing cross-border US-China investment), FreeS Fund executive director Wang Lei, FreeS Fund executive director Ma Rui, and three founders from the FreeS family with overseas study and work experience:

Zhang Yiling, founder of Longwood Valley, postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School, MD in orthopedics;
Pan Yukun, founder of Boyin Biotech, PhD from Yale University;
Xiao Yun, co-founder of Kinova Pharma, undergraduate from Peking University's Yuanpei Program in life sciences, formerly at Abbott, Wantai, Fresenius, and STAGO.

▍About the Speakers

▍About FreeS Open Day

FreeS Open Day ("Feng Xiang Hui") is a brand event launched by FreeS Fund in 2020. At the first edition in early August, we gathered overseas students and returnee entrepreneurs for in-depth discussions on the journey, lessons, and hard-won experience of building companies back in China. This second edition spotlights innovation in biopharma. Beyond Open Day, we regularly host "FreeS North America Tour" (offline sharing sessions at North American universities) and "Feng Shen Bang" (North America intern program).

▍Special Thanks

Our thanks to the following 14 organizations for their support:

MIT CEO, CMU CSSA, UCB ACE, MIT CHIEF, Harvard College China Forum, UCLA CSSA, UCSB CSSA, BioSpark, LEAP, CEO Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization, Princeton CSSA, Dartmouth CSSA, CU CSSA, Carnegie Mellon University Beijing Alumni Association

Closing Note

We're also reviving our gene therapy closed-door roundtable, previously paused due to COVID.

The day after the biopharma Open Day — Sunday, September 13, from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM — we'll co-host a Gene Therapy: Opportunities and Future Trends forum in Beijing with YHCC (Yale University China Health Council) and BioWorld. We'll dive deep into the current state and latest advances in gene therapy, as well as opportunities for entrepreneurship and investment.

If you're a practitioner, scientist, or founder in related fields and would like to participate, please contact Feng Xiaorui (WeChat ID: freesfund) — include your name, company, and title when reaching out. Registration is subject to review; the specific venue will be shared upon approval.