【26 January 2017, Hong Kong】On 26 January 2017, Fosun Pharma (stock code: 600196.SH, 02196.HK), announced that Fosun Industrial, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fosun Pharma, and Fosun Industrial Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fosun International, intended to set up a new SPV joint venture, and acquire 80% equity interest of Goldcup through the SPV by way of share transfer and subscription of newly issued shares in an aggregate amount of up to US$90 million. Upon completion of the aforementioned transaction, PBM RESP Holdings, LLC (hereinafter referred to as “PBM”), the existing shareholder of Goldcup, will maintain the remaining 20% equity interest of Goldcup.

Founded in Sweden in 2017, Goldcup is a company newly established for the reorganization of the investment target for the transaction. Prior to completion of the transaction, PBM will transfer all companies related to the Breas device business into Goldcup. Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Breas is a professional medical device company engaged in the research, development, production and sale of therapeutic equipment for sleep-related respiratory diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which own high-quality and advanced respiratory device brands in Europe and a well-established sales network in Europe and the US.

Respiratory devices are mainly used for treatment for COPD and sleep apnea. As one of the common chronic diseases, COPD is a chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema characterized by airflow obstruction which may further develop into pulmonary heart disease and respiratory failure. Air quality directly influences the incidence of COPD, threatening human health. According to the World Health Organization, COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide. Sleep apnea has a symptom of occasional or frequent apnea when breathing. Researchers from the Faculty of Nursing, The University of Sydney, Australia found that those with sleep apnea are much more likely to have cancer and die of cancer than people without it.

As the Chinese society has been increasingly concerned about respiratory health and disease treatment, Fosun Pharma has been exploring the respiratory area and diversifying its product lines to provide innovative solutions for patients suffering from respiratory diseases through its business platform and professional channels. In 2016, Fosun Pharma invested Spirometrix, a company with asthma monitoring technology based in Silicon Valley, to drive commercialization of Spirometrix’s initial product, Fenom PRO, a point-of-care portable breath analyzer. Furthermore, Fosun Pharma has announced to establish a joint venture with Intuitive Surgical in Shanghai to research, develop and sell innovative medical devices for early-stage lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. Upon completion of the transaction, a strategic platform covering from early-stage diagnosis of lung cancer and asthma to treatment device products for common respiratory diseases will be established to form a closed circuit for Fosun Pharma’s respiratory medical business.

The management of Fosun Pharma said that, by entering into the transaction, Fosun Pharma will be able to enhance its capability in research and development of medical devices and diversify its product lines. It will also benefit Fosun Pharma in building an integrated global online and offline operating platform for medical devices.