Ruchun Ji

Ruchun Ji focuses his practice on advising investors, strategic and private equity buyers, and high-growth companies in life sciences, healthcare, and technology industries globally. He counsels clients in a broad range of transactions, from company formation to venture capital financings, growth capital investments, joint ventures, strategic alliances, licensing and collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, follow-ons and PIPEs.

He also advises clients on regulatory matters involving the United States Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and disputes relating to licensing and collaboration transactions.

Ruchun is also a member of the firm’s Chambers-ranked Automotive and Mobility Leadership Committee, which is composed of lawyers from around the world in various practice areas dedicated to driving the firm’s growth in the automotive and mobility sector.

Before relocating to the firm’s China office, Ruchun had practiced as an associate and partner with Sidley Austin and another international firm in Silicon Valley for more than a decade.

Ruchun is recognized as a leading individual in Life Sciences (2025) and Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment (2023-2025) by Chambers Greater China Region. Clients praised him as someone who is “an exceptionally detail-oriented lawyer with a great business mind”. He is also recommended by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific in Life Sciences and Healthcare (2023-2026), Corporate and M&A (2024), and Private Equity (2023).

Examples of Ruchun’s significant experience include representing:

Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and PIPEs:

• Zylox-Tonbridge Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 2190), a leading medical device company in the neuro- and peripheral-vascular interventional market in China, in connection with a private investment in public security (or PIPE) transaction to purchase a total of up to US$15 million of preferred and common stock of Avinger, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGR), a NASDAQ-listed Delaware corporation.
• OnCusp Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming cutting-edge preclinical innovation into clinically validated treatments for cancer patients worldwide, in the oversubscribed US$100 million (more than RMB700 million) Series A financing round.
• SanReno Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company specializing in the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for kidney diseases, in its acquisition by Novartis, a global medicines company.
• Resolian, a global bioanalytical contract research organization (CRO) specializing in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics for small and large molecules, in the acquisition of Denali Medpharma, a leading China-based bioanalytical CRO.
• Inspiration Capital Partners, a leading mid-market private equity firm focusing on growth and control investments in China’s healthcare, consumer, and financial/business services sectors, in connection with its leveraged acquisition of Antute (Beijing) Technology Limited, a leading provider of third-party maintenance services for data center infrastructure and critical IT assets in China.
• Venus Medtech (Hangzhou) Inc., a Chinese structural heart disease treatment company, in its $300 million acquisition of Cardiovalve Ltd., an Israel-based, pioneering transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve treatment company.
• Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, a leading venture capital fund in the field of life sciences, and Frazier Healthcare Partners, a leading provider of growth and venture capital to healthcare companies, in the formation of SanReno Therapeutics, a joint venture with Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDNY), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of precision medicines for kidney diseases, and the equity investment in SanReno.
• Vivo Capital and AdvanTech Capital as lead investors in the US$75 million Series A financing for Ablaze Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies (TRT) against tumor targets.
• Vivo Capital and Novo Holdings A/S as lead investors in its US$200 million Series A and Crossover round financing for Esco Lifesciences with participation from other institutional investors.
• Hennessy Capital Investment Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, in its agreement to combine with Plus (formerly Plus.ai), a global provider of self-driving truck technology, with an implied pro forma equity value of US$3.3 billion.
• Pandora Media (NYSE: P) in its sale to Sirius XM Radio in a stock-for-stock merger valued at US$3.5 billion
• Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) in a US$850 million PIPE transaction in conjunction with its multi-billion dollar global strategic development and commercialization collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 
• Medivation (NASDAQ: MDVN) in its acquisition of worldwide rights to the breast cancer treatment, talazoparib, from BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: BMRN) for US$570 million
• BiPar Sciences in its sale to Sanofi-aventis for total consideration of up to US$500 million
• West Marine (NASDAQ: WMAR) in its sale to Monomoy Capital Partners for a total equity value of US$337 million
• Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) in its acquisition of NEXTracker for cash consideration of up to US$330 million
• AmTrust Financial Services (NASDAQ: AFSI) in a US$300 million PIPE transaction
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) in its acquisition of Silicon Graphics International (NASDAQ: SGI) for cash consideration of US$275 million
• Vector Capital in its sale of CollabNet to TPG
• Vector Capital in its sale of 20-20 Technologies to Golden Gate Capital
• Vector Capital in its acquisition, through one of its portfolio companies, IPValue Intellectual Property Management, of Longitude Licensing 
• Vector Capital in its acquisition, through one of its portfolio companies, CollabNet, of VersionOne
• Platinum Equity in the sale of a control position in Fabcon
• Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) in the sale of its pulmonary care division to Novartis Pharmaceuticals for cash consideration of approximately US$115 million
• Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) in the sale to Auris Surgical Robotics for total equity value of US$80 million 
• Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN) in its asset acquisition of EGEN for cash and stock consideration of up to US$44.4 million
• Progenics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PGNX) in its acquisition of Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals
• Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) in its acquisition of SurfEasy
• Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) in its acquisitions of Loop Commerce 
• Synchrony Financial in its acquisition of GPShopper
• American Family Insurance in its acquisition of Networked Insights
• VeriSilicon in its acquisition of Vivante Corporation in an all-stock transaction
• News Corporation in its acquisition of a 19.9% stake in Bona Film Group (NASDAQ: BONA)
• Yahoo! in several of acquisitions of technology companies

Emerging Companies and Venture Capital:

• A private investment fund in the US$200 million preferred stock financing of Uber Technologies
• An investor in the US$200 million Series B preferred stock financing of Celularity
• The RealReal in its $115 million Series G preferred stock financing
• CytomX Therapeutics in several preferred stock financings for aggregate proceeds of over US$100 million 
• Vivo Capital and OrbiMed in the $80 million Series B preferred stock financing of Terns Pharmaceuticals
• Venrock Partners, Vivo Capital and other investors in the US$80 million preferred stock financing of Biohaven Pharmaceutical
• HOPU Investments in the $55 million Series B preferred stock financing of Lyndra Therapeutics
• Dicerna Pharmaceuticals in its US$60 million Series C financing led by RA Capital, Brookside Capital, Deerfield and Omega Funds
• Venrock Partners in the $50 million Series C preferred share financing of Hua Medicine
• Tricida in its US$55 million Series C financing 
• Eight Roads Ventures in the Series B financing of Insilico
• IDG Capital in the US$67 million preferred stock financing of HiFiBio
• Sofinnova Ventures in the $34.5 million Series C preferred stock financing of Mirna Therapeutics
• Zingbox in its US$22 million Series B financing
• DeltaHealth China in its equity financing
• Auris Surgical Robotics in its various equity financings

Licensing and IP:

• I-Mab (Nasdaq: IMAB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel biologics, in its strategic collaboration agreement with Jumpcan Pharmaceutical Group for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of I-Mab’s highly differentiated long-acting recombinant human growth hormone, eftansomatropin alfa (TJ101) in mainland China.
• NeuroFront in its exclusive licensing agreement with Neurolief to develop and commercialize Relivion, non-invasive medical devices for the treatment of migraine and depression, in Greater China and South Korea.
• Alebund Pharmaceuticals (Hong Kong) Limited in its option and license agreement with Chugai in relation to its EOS789, an investigational agent under development for hyperphosphatemia.

Capital Markets:

• Zhaoke Ophthalmology Limited (HKEX:6622) in connection with its HK$1.94 billion (US$250 million) initial public offering on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The listing is a spinoff from Lee’s Pharm Group (HKEX:950). Zhaoke is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development, and commercialization of therapies that address significant unmet medical needs in China. 
• Ocumension Therapeutics (HKEX: 1477), in its HK$1.42 billion (approximately US$182.5 million) initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Ocumension Therapeutics, which started its business in 2017, is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical platform company dedicated to identifying, developing, and commercializing first or best-in-class ophthalmic therapies.
• Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) in multiple underwritten follow-on public offerings for aggregate proceeds of approximately US$600 million
• CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTMX) in its initial public offering
• Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: DRNA) in its initial public offering
• Progenics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PGNX) in several underwritten follow-on public offerings
• Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN) in several “at-the-market” and registered direct public offerings

*Certain matters listed above were handled prior to joining Sidley.