Dutch firm to set up China Fund to boost biotech sector

THE HAGUE - Life Science Partners (LSP), a Dutch venture capital firm, announced on Tuesday that it will establish a China Fund, which will raise money in China and to be used to assist the development of the European biotechnology market.

According to LSP, it will also sell European biotech company's technology to Chinese companies in the same industry. It is reported that this is the first time LSP will raise funds in China.

As European institutional investors tend to invest less in risky industries such as life sciences because of strict capital requirements, European biotech companies lack money for research and development of new products.

Chinese biotech companies and research centers on the other hand have great need for European knowledge and expertise to accelerate the development of their products.

LSP founder and managing partner Martin Kleijwegt said he believes the LSP China Fund is a "great business model."

"We will use the classical model of venture investment focusing on China's academic centers, and make European biotechnology patents available for Chinese life science companies," Kleijwegt said.

Managing 800 million euros of assets, LSP is the largest provider of venture capital in 'life sciences' in Europe.