Shanghai OPM Biosciences

Shanghai OPM Biosciences

Founded in 2013 by Zhihua Xiao, Shanghai OPM Biosciences operates as a corporate investor structured around two interdependent pillars: cell culture media development and end-to-end CDMO services. The company maintains its headquarters and a GMP workshop in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, alongside a Zhangjiang Science City CDMO platform, and opened a North American facility in Pleasanton, California. Xiao, the firm’s chairman and general manager, shares control with deputy general manager Yunfen He, who also serves as president of the US entity. OPM’s model compresses the biologics development timeline — from cell line engineering and media optimization to clinical GMP production — with a China-based footprint that also services US clients. Its operating assets include an industrial GMP workshop on Ziping Road, a CDMO platform in Zhangjiang Science City, and a commercial office in Pleasanton, California. Co-investor relationships with Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital (through GL Ventures) surfaced in related biotech ventures such as PharmaLegacy, indicating alignment with top-tier China life science capital. The company deploys capital through its integrated Shanghai manufacturing and Zhangjiang CDMO infrastructure, while the Pleasanton office extends its service reach to North American biopharma clients. Xiao and He control the firm jointly, with He leading US business development. OPM’s collaboration map includes Sequoia Capital China and GL Ventures, which co-invested in PharmaLegacy alongside the OPM network. OPM is unusual among biopharma asset owners because it is not a venture fund, a family office, or a pure-play manufacturer — it functions as a dual-operating company that uses its cell culture media business to feed its CDMO pipeline. This vertical integration gives OPM in-house demand signals for its manufacturing capacity without requiring external LP capital, a structural insulation that most standalone CDMOs cannot replicate.