China biotech makes big data a weapon in its war on cancer

Nisa Leung was pregnant with her first child in 2012, her doctor in Hong Kong offered her a choice. She could take a prenatal test that would require inserting a needle into her uterus, or pay $130 more for an exam that would draw a little blood from her arm.

Leung opted for the simpler and less risky test, which analyzed bits of the baby's DNA that had made its way into her bloodstream. Then, Leung went on to do what she often does when she recognizes a good product: look around for companies to invest in.

Leung is the managing partner at Qiming Venture Partners and decided to put money into Chinese mainland genetic testing firm Berry Genomics Co Ltd, which eventually entered into a partnership with the Hong Kong-based inventor of the blood test. In the next few months, Berry is expected to be absorbed into a developer in a 4.3 billion yuan ($625 million) reverse merger. And Leung's venture capital firm would be the latest to benefit from a boom in so-called precision medicine, an emerging field that includes everything from genetic prenatal tests to customizing treatments for cancer patients.