VISEN Pharmaceuticals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Antibody-drug conjugates startup Duality Biologics will join the public markets on Tuesday via an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Shanghai biotech, which has lined up multiple pharma partners, priced its IPO at 94.60 Hong Kong dollars (about $12.20) per share, according to a financial filing . The company expects net proceeds of 1.51 billion HKD ($194 million). It follows fellow Chinese drugmaker Visen Pharmaceuticals’ 672 million HKD ($87 million) IPO last month. The move comes as China’s biotech sector grasps the global drug development spotlight and has performed better this year than its American counterparts. Biotech stocks in the US are down 30% overall year-to-date, Stifel’s Tim Opler wrote in a Sunday industry update. Meanwhile, China’s biotech stocks are up 41% overall for the year, he said. Duality has multiple ADCs in the clinic for various cancers and has quickly lined up a roster of well-known partners, including GSK , BioNTech, BeiGene, Adcendo and Avenzo Therapeutics . It also named a chief medical officer last week.

Visen Pharmaceuticals is designed to develop and commercialize Ascendis’ endocrinology therapies in greater China. Endocrine-disease-focused Visen Pharmaceuticals is making its public market debut in Hong Kong, filing papers for an $86.5 million IPO.The China-based biotech was formed in 2018 by Ascendis Pharma and an investor syndicate led by Vivo Capital. The biotech is designed to develop and commercialize Ascendis’ endocrinology therapies in greater China.Now, Visen is going public, with expected gross proceeds of $100 million, according to March 20 regulatory filings (PDF). The company has previously raised about $190 million, closing a $150 million series B financing in early 2021. That fundraise included OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Ascendis Pharma, Vivo Capital and Sofinnova Investments, among others.The company hosts three programs in its pipeline: Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide) for adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism; Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin) for pediatric growth hormone deficiency; and navepegritide, an investigational prodrug of C-type natriuretic peptide for achondroplasia.   

Visen Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing much of Ascendis Pharma’s endocrine-related disease pipeline for the China market, will go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday. The company expects net proceeds of about 672 million HKD ($86.5 million) from the initial public offering, which will take place Friday local time or Thursday afternoon New York time, according to a regulatory filing . Investors in the IPO include AnkeBio, Suzhou Harvest, Vivo Capital and WuXi Biologics HealthCare Venture, among others, according to the filing. There have been few HKEX biopharma IPOs in recent quarters. A couple listing hopefuls have let their filings lapse after six months of no action, including Insilico Medicine, which went with a $110 million Series E instead. Duality Biologics, an ADC biotech partnered with multiple big-name drugmakers, let its HKEX IPO ambitions stall last month, but the Shanghai-based startup quickly refiled days later. Visen was approaching its own six-month deadline, having filed for the IPO last September. Ascendis formed Visen in 2018 and initially held onto 50% of the company. That stake gradually fell to about 40%, according to regulatory filings. Ascendis continued devoting capital to the joint venture, including an equity investment as part of Visen’s $150 million Series B in January 2021. Visen had raised about $190 million prior to the IPO, according to regulatory filings. It’s already used about 86% of those funds, per the documents. In addition to Ascendis, Visen’s other key pre-IPO investors are Vivo Capital (32.1%), Sofinnova Ventures (4.6%), HongShan Growth (3.6%), OrbiMed (1.6%) and Sherpa Healthcare Partners (1.6%), according to regulatory filings . Visen is working on assets licensed from Ascendis for pediatric growth hormone deficiency, achondroplasia and hypoparathyroidism. Ascendis has received European and FDA approvals for some of the medicines already. Denmark-based Ascendis has done other business development deals, including a Japan venture , spinning out its ophthalmology work and partnering with Novo Nordisk . Visen is led by CEO Pony Lu, who was previously president of Takeda’s China unit. He’s also been in leadership roles at Servier’s Taiwan, China and France units and AstraZeneca Taiwan.