US private equity firm TPG has bought a majority stake in Taiwanese clinical trials provider, OPC Holding, which it plans to expand into China, the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market.
The acquisition, announced on Monday, is another step in TPG’s plan to create a pan-Asian clinical drug trials firm, also known in the industry as a contract research organisation CRO.
The other leg of the nascent regional CRO is Sydney-based Novotech, which TPG said it bought in August. While Novotech caters to US and European biotech firms conducting research in Asia, OPC will target Chinese firms seeking regulatory approval for their drugs, whether at...