Chinese drug developer Abbisko files for HK IPO

The largest institutional shareholder is Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV) with an 11.16% stake, followed by Qiming Venture Partners and Elbrus Investments, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, with 8.65% and 8.28%, respectively. Other major shareholders include Tetrad Ventures and Sinopharm, which respectively hold 5.64% and 5.07%, according to a filing.

Founded in 2016, Shanghai-based Abbisko has designed and developed a pipeline of 12 programs with global R&D and commercialization rights. Two programs have been in-licensed, bringing the total number of assets to 14. Four of these are at clinical stage.

Abbisko claims to have built a multi-dimensional discovery platform with comprehensive capabilities in cancer genomics and screening, computational and medicinal chemistry, as well as translational and biomarker science. This is said to enable discovery of high-quality assets with efficiency.

The company has yet to enter the commercialization stage. It recorded income of RMB12.7 million ($1.97 million) in 2019 and RMB18.8 million in 2020. For the first quarter of 2021, income was RMB1.9 million, versus RMB0.4 million in the same period of last year.

In 2019 and 2020, the company recorded losses of RMB133 million and RMB707 million, respectively. For the first quarter of 2021, the net loss was RMB123 million, compared to RMB56.5 million of the same period last year.

In January, the Carlyle Group – investing through its Asia growth fund –led a $123 million Series D round for Abbisko with support from Warburg Pincus, OrbiMed, and Lake Bleu Capital. Smaller commitments were provided by Janchor Partners, Sage Partners, Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, Hankang Capital, and CICC Capital.

Temasek led a $70 million Series C in 2020 that also featured Loyal Valley Capital, Jianxin Capital, and GIC Private. Previous investors also include Sinopharm Capital and TF Capital. Total funding before the IPO came to $263 million.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the global oncology drug market is estimated to grow 10.5% a year from $150.3 billion in 2020 to $670.4 billion in 2035. In China, annual growth rates are projected at 11.5%, with the market increasing in size from $28.6 billion in 2020 to $145.5 billion in 2035.

Small molecule therapies represent the largest market share in terms of global revenue as well as US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approvals, and this market share has increased in the past several years, according to the IPO document.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• IPO
• Healthcare
• Technology
• China
• Pharmaceuticals
• Lilly Asia Ventures
• Qiming Venture Partners
• Temasek Holdings