Hua Medicine, a diabetes treatment developer backed by pharmaceutical company WuXi PharmaTech, intends to raise upwards of $400m in an initial public offering, Reuters reported today.
Goldman Sachs will be lead underwriter for the offering, which would take place on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the second half of 2018, according to people with knowledge of the matter. CLSA is also set to be among the IPO’s underwriters.
Hua is developing therapies for diabetes and central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Its product candidates include a diabetes treatment, which forms part of a drug class called glucokinase activators, which has already received positive phase 2 clinical results.
The company anticipates receiving Chinese regulatory approval for its first diabetes drug in 2019, its chief financial officer, George Lin, has previously told Reuters.
The offering will follow $125m of funding, including $50m in a series A round that included WuXi Pharmatech and Sino-Alliance International (Sail), an affiliate of chipmaker Shanghai Simic Electronics, in 2011.
The 2011 round also featured Arch Venture Partners, Venrock and financial services group Fidelity, which invested through Fidelity Biosciences and Fidelity Growth Partners Asia, the units later rebranded as F-Prime Capital and Eight Roads respectively.
Investment platform Ally Bridge Group led Hua’s $25m series B round in 2015, investing alongside WuXi subsidiary WuXi Ventures, Sail, Fidelity, Arch Venture Partners, Venrock, Frontline BioVentures and TF Capital. The same investors added $50m the following year.