What’s new: China’s securities regulator Tuesday approved BeiGene’s 200 billion yuan ($31 billion) initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-like STAR Market, making it the first Chinese biopharmaceutical company to have shares traded on the Chinese mainland, in Hong Kong and in the U.S.
As the STAR Market’s listing committee cleared BeiGene’s IPO in June, the approval by the China Securities Regulatory Commission was the last step before the share sale.
BeiGene still needs to set a debut date with the Shanghai stock Exchange, along with its underwriters, and disclose the prospectus.
BeiGene, founded in 2010, focuses on developing molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology drug candidates for the treatment of cancers. The company raised $182 million in its IPO on the Nasdaq in 2016 and $902 million in its Hong Kong secondary listing in 2018.
The background: BeiGene briefly turned a profit in this year’s first quarter, its first time in the black since its listing in Hong Kong, as drug sales doubled. But continuing high research and development costs pushed the company back into a net loss of $828 million for the first three quarters.
The company plans to build a new R&D and manufacturing base in the eastern U.S. state of New Jersey, with a vision to make better use of local talent to boost its overseas expansion efforts.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (hello@caixin.com)
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