Bahrain’s Investcorp invests in Wuhan’s medical testing group, Kindstar

Bahraini private equity firm Investcorp has invested in Kindstar Globalgene (“Kindstar”), the Chinese independent medical testing services group.

The terms of the transaction, however, were not disclosed.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Wuhan, Kindstar offers patients and physicians access to advanced specialty testing services across hematology, gynecology and pediatrics, infectious diseases, oncology and neurology. It currently serves more than 3,000 hospitals in over 600 cities in China with advanced and nationally accredited clinical testing, scientific research and development laboratories.

“Our focus on healthcare opportunities in China allowed us to identify Kindstar which has built impressive capabilities for improving the quality of healthcare through severe diseases related testing,” said Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-CEO of Investcorp.

“We believe that Kindstar has significant growth potential driven by accelerating demand for precision medicine, underserved market and the company’s broadening advanced solutions to address an even wider range of specialty healthcare needs. We are proud to support Kindstar and its first-class management team in executing its exciting growth plans.”

Kindstar uses esoteric testing which involves analysing unique molecules or substances utilising advanced technologies and skilled laboratory technicians, to provide critical diagnostic information that cannot be obtained through routine testing.

China’s independent clinical laboratories market is expected to grow significantly, with esoteric testing outpacing the overall market, driven by demand to address unmet medical needs.

Kindstar is supported by its extensive global network, which includes some of the world’s leading healthcare organisations. Investcorp’s investment forms part of its platform focused on investing in Chinese healthcare companies that are expected to experience accelerated growth.

In September 2020, Investcorp announced that it had acquired minority equity stakes in Lu Daopei Medical Group, the hematology hospitals group in China and WeDoctor, an online healthcare services company.