Vivo Ventures’ Time Arrives As All Eyes Look To China

Funded initially in 1996 by private and government sources in Taiwan, Vivo Ventures has emerged as a leader among US-based VCs investing in China. The firm’s partners say its success will come through an intricate web of business development and licensing arrangements between health care companies in China with their counterparts in the US. The strategy has produced results. In the US, specialty pharmaceutical company Sagent Pharmaceuticals went public last year after building a booming business at least partially upon arrangements with China suppliers. In China, Medtronic stepped up in October to acquire Kanghui Medical, an orthopedics company with global vision and connections to privately held US companies.