Eleven Chinese healthcare and biotechnology companies filed applications to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange in the last two days of September, taking advantage of an ongoing investment boom in the sector.
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The best-known names among them are online healthcare services firm We Doctor Holdings, Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical – known for a US$8.4 billion licensing deal with US-based Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) – and profitable cancer-drug developer Betta Pharmaceuticals.
Other initial public offering (IPO) hopefuls are dietary supplements firm Anhui Huaheng Biotechnology, developer of genetic-sequencing-based screening kits Annoroad Gene Technology (Beijing), cancer immunotherapy innovator Binhui Biopharmaceutical and Good Doctor Cloud Healthcare and Technology Group, which offers artificial intelligence technology for medical institutions.
Also joining the IPO queue are Shanghai Synyi Medical Technology, drugs developer Changchun High-Tech Industry (Group), metabolic diseases medicine developer Shaanxi Micot Pharmaceutical Technology, and maker of radioactive diagnostic and therapy products Yantai Lannacheng Biotechnology.
Including 12 IPO applications submitted earlier in the month by mainland firms in the health and life sciences sector, at least 23 applications were recorded in September, according to a Post analysis of exchange filings. Most are drug and medical-device developers.
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The Hang Seng Biotech index, which tracks the 50 largest biotech, pharmaceutical and medical-device firms listed in Hong Kong, has surged 109 per cent this year after slumping 70 per cent from its mid-2021 peak.
“The Hong Kong and China healthcare rally year-to-date is driven by fund flow and out-licensing sentiment,” said Tony Ren, head of Asia healthcare research at Macquarie Capital, in a note on Thursday.