Investment news

Frank Yu, a former Och-Ziff Capital Management Group head of China investments, has started an Asian health-care hedge fund. The Ally Bridge LB Healthcare Fund began trading on July 15, targeting buying opportunities created by Chinese reforms since 2007. It is led by Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer Li Bin, a former Merck & Co. scientist who until May was Morgan Stanley’s head of Greater China health-care research.

Novartis AG’s Sandoz unit may begin selling the first copy of Amgen Inc.’s cancer treatment Neupogen as soon as Sept. 2 after an appeals court ruling Tuesday rejected arguments that it failed to follow regulatory rules.

Celgene Corp. agreed to acquire Receptos Inc. for $7.2 billion, adding experimental treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. Celgene will pay $232 a share in cash, according to a statement Tuesday. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, is a departure for Celgene, which has bet more on partnerships with smaller biotech companies than on outright takeovers.

Temasek Holdings Pte is shaking up its asset mix with a push into biotechnology and consumer companies that stand to benefit from aging populations and increasing disposable incomes. Singapore’s state-investment firm singled out life sciences and agriculture as well as consumer goods among the top three industries it allocated money to in the fiscal year ended March 31, helping its portfolio value reach a record. It added assets in U.S. pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences Inc, Indian drugmaker Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd, and health and beauty retailer A.S. Watson during that period.

Biogen Inc. will broaden its gene therapy pipeline by signing a partnership with Applied Genetic Technologies Corp. worth about $1 billion to develop ophthalmology treatments. AGTC will get an upfront payment of $124 million, which includes a $30 million equity investment, according to a statement on Thursday. Biogen will also make additional payments for development and sales milestones that could make the agreement worth more than $1 billion, the companies said.

The government-owned RVC Seed Fund and KSI Ventures, its corporate partner, have set up a microfund called “the Life Sciences Seed Fund,” announced the website of RVC, Russia’s national fund of funds for innovation that owns the RVC Seed Fund as its investment arm to back start-ups.

London Mayor Boris Johnson is proposing a 10 billion-pound ($16 billion) fund to encourage growth of emerging health-care companies in the U.K. in an effort to catch up to biotechnology clusters in the U.S.

SIRION Biotech, a leading viral vector platform company known for creating high quality viral vector solutions for industry and academic partners, today announced its commitment to open a new office in the vicinity of Boston. The announcement was made during the 2015 BIO International Convention taking place this week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.