BIOTECH firm Innovent Biologics is looking to raise up to US$422 million in its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), three sources said, in what could be the biggest biotech IPO in the city this year. Innovent, which is backed by mutual fund giant Fidelity and Singapore state investor Temasek, has set an indicative price range of HK$12.5-HK$14.00 (US$1.59-US$1.79) per share for its IPO, the sources said, giving the company a valuation of about US$2 billion. It is the latest company looking to take advantage of new rules introduced by the Hong Kong stock exchange to woo early-stage drug developers, after Ascletis Pharma, Hua Medicine and NASDAQ-listed BeiGene. Biotech firms with no profit or revenue are now allowed to go public in Hong Kong as the city looks to attract more new-economy companies in its competition for public floats with New York. However, previous biotechs that listed in Hong Kong under the new rules have fared poorly, casting a shadow on the sector, while a market rout last week drove Tencent Music Entertainment to postpone its own IPO. Maiden applicant Ascletis Pharma is down 55 percent from its IPO price, while BeiGene has dropped 29 percent since its dual-primary listing in Hong Kong. Innovent managed to secure 10 cornerstone investors, including Sequoia Capital, Value Partners, Prime Capital, Cormorant and Capital Group, who together committed to buy US$245 million in shares, the sources said. The Shanghai and Suzhou-based firm, which develops products for treating cancer, autoimmune disorders and other diseases, had revenue of 4.4 million yuan (US$636,030) in the first half of this year and 18.5 million yuan in 2017 from a licence granted to a biopharmaceutical company in China. It had no revenue in 2016. (SD-Agencies) |