Plus deals involving Incyte/CMS, Biocytogen/ABL, Bharat/Biofabri/Bilthoven, Dr. Reddy’s/Pharmazz, Veeda/Heads, Sosei Heptares/GSK, BioGeometry/Sanyou, Ono/Sibylla and Teijin/BioProjet

Biotech IPOs on the Chinese mainland have dried up since June 2023 due to regulatory tightening, but Hong Kong is still open to listings of pre-revenue ventures and has seen its first offering of this year.

Among the latest financing deals, advanced therapeutics such as cell and gene therapies (CGT) continued enjoying the spotlight from venture capital and private equity investors in China. Meanwhile, small molecules with novel mechanism of action such as molecule glue stood out from their peers to win investors’ favor.

Shanghai-based Ark Biosciences has expanded its pipeline from the RSV-targeting drug ziresovir, licensed from Roche, to pediatric and fibrosis treatments, where there are largely untapped opportunities in China. In a strategy shift, the company is betting on the domestic market instead of going global.