As­traZeneca sketch­es plans for a $1B ven­ture fund — and it's go­ing to Chi­na

Go­ing down an in­creas­ing­ly trod­den path to the world’s sec­ond largest health­care mar­ket, As­traZeneca is help­ing set up a life sci­ences fund to groom Chi­na star­tups that could turn in­to po­ten­tial part­ners.

CEO Pas­cal So­ri­ot has out­lined his vi­sion for a $1 bil­lion haul to be gath­ered over the next four years, the Wall Street Jour­nal first re­port­ed. The short-term goal for this year is to raise $200 mil­lion to $300 mil­lion, and firms such as Se­quoia Cap­i­tal and Temasek have al­ready ex­pressed in­ter­est.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER