ASCLETIS Pharma Inc., a Chinese maker of HIV and liver-cancer drugs, has raised US$400 million after pricing its initial public offering (IPO) at the middle of a marketed range at HK$14 (US$1.78) a share.

The fundraising would leave founder and majority owner Wu Jinzi with a fortune of about US$1.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The company is expected to begin trading Aug. 1.

Started just five years ago, Ascletis is the first biotech company to take advantage of looser listing rules adopted in April by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., paving the way for unprofitable firms in the industry to go public.

The drugmaker reported a net loss of 86.9 million yuan (US$12.8 million) last year, according to a prospectus, as the company has yet to generate sales.

Nevertheless, Ascletis does have deep-pocketed and savvy investors. It has raised US$155 million in two rounds of financing with backers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and C-Bridge Capital.

“The health care sector is growing, while other sectors are slowing down,” C-Bridge chief executive officer Wei Fu said in a phone interview. The Shanghai private equity firm, with US$1.4 billion under management, owns 12 percent of Ascletis.

Fu said the investment “laid the foundation for the company to grow” and accounted for more than half of Ascletis’s pre-IPO funding.

Under the new rules, in place since April 30, biotech firms without revenue or profit can apply to list in Hong Kong. More than 10 companies — mostly Chinese, including Innovent Biologics and Shanghai Henlius Biotech — plan to list and some have dropped U.S. IPO plans in favor of listing closer to home.

(SD-Agencies)