Abbisko Therapeutics, a China-based oncology therapeutics developer backed by pharmaceutical groups AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Sinopharm, has floated in a HK$1.75bn ($226m) initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The IPO involved Abbisko issuing about 141 million shares on the first day of trading at the top of its HK12.16 to HK$12.46 ($1.56 to $1.60) range, giving the company a market capitalisation of almost $1.1bn, according to DealStreetAsia.
Joint sponsors JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley told investors on October 5 they had secured $128m through cornerstone orders before bookbuilding, Global Capital Asia had reported.
Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV), Eli Lilly’s regional corporate venturing vehicle, was among the cornerstone investors in the offering, as were AIHC Capital Management, BlackRock, Lake Bleu Capital, OrbiMed, Qiming, Temasek, Warburg Pincus and UBS Asset Management and Vivo.
Abbisko is developing a pipeline of 14 small molecule cancer and immuno-oncology therapy drug candidates – five of which are in the clinical stage – for patients in its home country and elsewhere.
The company intends to leverage the IPO proceeds to conduct further research and development of its lead product candidate, ABSK-091, for use in treating various types of solid tumours.
AstraZeneca CICC Healthcare Venture Capital Fund, a joint venture between AstraZeneca and investment bank China International Capital Corporation, provided an undisclosed sum for Abbisko in April this year.
The company’s $123m series D round was led by Carlyle Group three months before and backed by LAV as well as Temasek, Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, Warburg Pincus, OrbiMed, Lake Bleu Capital, Janchor Partners, Sage Partners, SHC, Qiming Venture Partners, Hankang Capital and CICC Capital.
LAV had already participated in a $70m series C round for Abbisko in March 2020 led by Temasek, which invested alongside GIC, Qiming Venture Partners, Jianxin Capital, CICC Capital and Loyal Valley Capital.
Qiming Venture Partners led Abbisko’s $42m series B round, in early 2019, which also featured LAV, Loyal Valley, TF Capital, CICC Capital and an unnamed sovereign wealth fund.
Sinopharm subsidiary Sinopharm Capital and LAV had joined Jianxin Capital and TF Capital in a $28m series A round for the company in 2017.
CICC is a global coordinator for the offering and was joined by bookrunners and lead managers Haitong International, HSBC, Huatai International and Industrial Securities International.
