Chinese investors face cultural barriers in acquiring foreign assets

By Wang Fangqing

As more Chinese pharma companies are seeking potential assets globally, especially biotech startups, they need to be aware of cultural differences, which in some cases could even blow up a deal, noted speaks at ChinaBio partnering forum held in Suzhou on Apr 26, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent Wang Fangqing.

For example, it is accepted in China that a buyer and a target talk about a possible acquisition at their first meeting, but such a practice is unusual in Europe, said Erik Digman Wiklund, chief financial officer at TargoVax, a Norwegian biotech for immunotherapies.