The 'biology winter' thaws: why investors are piling into Hong Kong's biotech IPOs

Hong Kong's biotech fundraising momentum is expected to widen into 2026, arsenic licensing deals and beardown post-initial nationalist offering (IPO) trading past twelvemonth persuaded investors that China's cause developers are worthy backing again - adjacent earlier they make revenue.

"Chinese innovation drugs expanding into overseas markets person go the manufacture mainstream, indicating the home innovation assemblage has entered its harvest phase," said Felix Huang, caput of equity astatine Oakwise Capital. "New trends successful cause targets and caller therapies person besides made biopharmaceutical stocks attractive."

Pharmaceuticals was 1 of the best-performing sectors for Hong Kong IPOs successful 2025, helium added.

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Still, analysts warned that the aforesaid forces drafting superior backmost to the assemblage besides underscored its underlying risks.

"Biotech remains a high-risk, cash-hungry sector," said Edward Au, Deloitte China's confederate portion managing partner. "With US involvement rates expected to autumn and borrowing costs acceptable to decline, the tract is apt to gully much investors."

More candidates are lining up. In the IPO pipeline awaiting support is CSPC Innovation Pharmaceutical, described arsenic the world's largest caffeine producer, which has commercialised 2 antibody drugs and 2 mRNA vaccines and built a pipeline of 15 cause candidates successful objective oregon aboriginal stages of development, including 9 antibody-drug conjugate candidates and 1 mRNA vaccine candidate.

Under Chapter 18A, Jingze Biopharmaceutical, targeting assisted reproductive and ophthalmic drugs, and InventisBio, which focused connected oncology, autoimmune diseases and metabolic disorders, filed for Hong Kong IPOs. Six-year-old Frontera Therapeutics applied to database arsenic a clinical-stage cistron therapy company.

Introduced successful 2018, the Chapter 18A listing authorities aims to pull high-potential issuers that deficiency the gross and nett way grounds usually required for a Hong Kong listing.

Guangzhou Novaken Pharm, different 18A applicant, is processing drugs crossed therapeutic areas including preoperative sedation, diabetes, value absorption and cardinal tense strategy disorders.

"Healthcare companies are doing good successful secondary markets, chiefly acknowledgment to cause out-licensing deals, and immoderate IPOs were precise palmy - that is wherefore galore much healthcare companies are eyeing fundraising successful Hong Kong," said Zhang Jialin, Nomura's caput of China healthcare research. "This question whitethorn proceed into 2026."