Pharmaceutical Company Novast Bags ￥1B in A New Round of Financing

According to PEdaily.cn, Nantong Lianya Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and its holding company Novast Holdings Ltd. (together called "Novast") have got an investment in private equity of nearly 1 billion yuan, led by Legend Capital, with participation from Shiyu Capital, Xiamen C&D Corporation, the Guiding Fund for Innovation and Development of Trade in Services launched by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and China Merchants Group, Highlight Capital and Highsino Group.

Founded in 2005 in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, by Dr. Zhang Guohua, Novast's team members are scientists and engineers from China, the United States, Canada and India, who have rich management and technical experience in the international pharmaceutical industry.

Since its establishment, Novast has been focusing on the research and development of drug delivery systems and slow-release formulations. Up to now, the company has successfully developed more than 180 innovative and generic drugs for the global pharmaceutical industry.

By April 2020, Novast has obtained FDA's approval to market a total of 40 pharmaceutical preparations, including more than 30 hormone products and 9 slow-release products, many of which have a leading market share in the United States. Currently, the company complies with the domestic policy's trend to actively develop the Chinese market.

Dr. Zhang Guohua, founder and President of Novast, said, "The first goal of Novast is to achieve a breakthrough in the internationalization of high-end oral solid preparations made in China and to provide high-quality and inexpensive drugs for the U.S. prescription drug market. The company's second goal is to bring high-end pharmaceutical products into the domestic market and into other counties for the benefit of mankind."

Established in April 2001, Legend Capital is an independent professional Venture Capital firm under Legend Holdings. Legend Capital focuses on early-stage venture capital and expansion-stage growth capital investment. The company is now managing several USD funds and RMB funds with a total AUM of 45 billion yuan.

Shiyu Capital is a professional equity investment and asset management institution, focusing on equity investment in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, asset allocation, and wealth management. Founded in September 2014, the company's total assets under management are now over 5 billion yuan.