More Moves From China’s WuXi

In a quick series of moves, the contract research firm WuXi AppTec delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, raised nearly $300 million to fund venture capital investments, and granted AstraZeneca the option to buy a biologics facility under construction in China. WuXi announced in April that its founder and CEO, Ge Li, backed by a group of investors, had offered to buy the firm for $3.3 billion. WuXi’s board approved the offer in late November, and the company stopped trading in New York on Dec. 10. Separately, WuXi announced that an investment subsidiary, WuXi Healthcare Ventures, has raised $290 million to invest in start-up drug discovery firms in the U.S. and China. Including funds raised earlier, WuXi Healthcare Ventures now has $350 million under management. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has the option to pay $100 million for a biologics facility that WuXi is building in Wuxi, China. AstraZeneca’s MedImmune subsidiary already has a joint venture with WuXi to develop MEDI5117, a biologic compound that treats autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.