Grail, an oncology diagnostics-focused spinout of US-based genomics technology provider Illumina, plans to float in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The offering would take place this year and is working with advisers for an IPO that coud raise up to $500m, though a firm amount has not been decided, one source said.
Grail is working on a blood test that will be able to detect cancer relatively early, before symptoms are visible, in order to boost the chances of it being treated effectively.
The company has raised more than $1.35bn in funding since it was founded in 2016. Illumina and venture capital firm Arch Venture Partners co-led its $125m series A round later that year, investing alongside Sutter Hill Ventures, Bezos Expeditions and entrepreneur Bill Gates.
Internet company Tencent, e-commerce group Amazon, pharmaceuticals supplier McKesson, medical device producer Varian and pharmaceutical firms Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Merck & Co and Johnson & Johnson provided $900m of series B funding for Grail in March 2017.
The series B round was increased to $1.21bn according to a November 2017 securities filing, and Grail’s other investors include GV, the corporate VC subsidiary of internet technology group Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures, and investment firm Decheng Capital.
The choice of Hong Kong as a destination for the IPO is likely due to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s proposal in December 2017 to allow dual-class shares which give shareholders different voting rights.
The dual-class structure is generally used by founders to retain control while raising equity funding. Hong Kong is drawing up guidelines and could implement the changes later this year.
Grail revealed the same month that it plans to launch a nasopharyngeal cancer screening test developed with Chinese University of Hong Kong that will be specifically aimed at Asian patients sometime in 2018.