Week in Review: Alibaba Bids $1.4 Billion for iKang, a Chain of China Healthcare Clinics

Deals and Financings   Alibaba and Yunfeng Capital offered $1.4 billion to acquire iKang Healthcare, a chain of China private clinics that will become part of Alibaba's online/offline healthcare offerings;  Timwell of Hong Kong will invest $20 million in ReWalk Robotics, an Israeli company with a soft-suit exoskeleton that helps patients walk after a stroke, and it will form a JV to distribute the device in China ; HitGen, a Chengdu discovery company, will collaborate with Germany 's BASF to identify small molecule leads for agrochemical crop protection targets; Government and Regulatory China's government will move the CFDA from direct control of President Xi into a new agency, as part of a larger reorganization;     Trials and Approvals   XW Labs, a CNS company with R&D operations in Wuhan and Taipei , will start an Australian Phase I trial of its lead candidate, a narcolepsy treatment; Chi-Med expects China approval of its first novel drug in 2018 and spent $88 million on R&D last year including trials for eight candidates; News and Analysis United Biopharma of Taiwan will build a mAb manufacturing facility in Yangzhou , China to supply China with novel and biosimilar biologic drugs;   Loncar Investments launched its Loncar China Biopharma Index, an index comprised of 32 China public biopharmas listed in Hong Kong and on NASDAQ. Stock Symbols: (NYSE: BABA) (NSDQ: KANG) (NSDQ:RWLK) (AIM/NSDQ: HCM) Share this with colleagues: // //