Under new listing rules, Hong Kong stages second biotech IPO

By PharmaCompass

2018-09-13

Impressions: 247 Article

Chinese cancer drug developer BeiGene, which debuted to a US$ 158 million public offering on the Nasdaq back in 2016, had its secondary IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange last month.

As part of an effort to attract secondary listings, Hong Kong is implementing new and more lenient rules for drugmakers that are still in the earliest stages of the clinical trial process without any products on the market.

BeiGene is only the second to launch an IPO under the new regime and the US$ 903 million raised during the dual listing improves its exposure to investors in Asia while being close to the mainland China market.

Click here to view the major deals in August 2018 (FREE Excel version available)

BeiGene intends to use net proceeds from the offering for clinical trials, preparation for registration filings, and for the launch and commercialization of its core product candidates — zanubrutinib, tislelizumab, and pamiparib.

Under the revised rules, Ascletis Pharma was the first early-stage biotechnology company to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in July 2018. After the new rules were put in place in Hong Kong, more than 10 biotech companies, mostly Chinese, announced plans to list in Hong Kong. Some have also dropped plans to launch IPOs in the US in favor of the Hong Kong exchange.

Click here to view the major deals in August 2018 (FREE Excel version available)

The overall IPO range sought by BeiGene was reportedly between US$ 908 million and US$ 1.07 billion and one of the reasons given for the biotech falling short of its target was the vaccine scandal in China which has been making headlines and may have hurt investor confidence.

Currently New York-based Nasdaq is the biggest center for biotech listings, with US$ 2.4 billion worth of such shares sold last year, according to the data provided by Thomson Reuters.

Click here to view the major deals in August 2018 (FREE Excel version available)

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Image Credit : Top Pharma & Biotech Deals - Aug 2018 by PharmaCompass is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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