Chinese biotech stocks have been gaining steam in recent months as more investors recognize the potential of the industry. Companies such as Hutchison China MediTech Ltd., BeiGene Ltd., and Zai Lab Ltd. have soared since their September IPOs. But besides these IPOs, other companies have also benefited from the general market optimism. One such company is Wuxi Biologics Cayman Inc., a profitable Shanghai-based service contractor that helps biotech drugmakers manufacture their drugs. Its shares have jumped 165 percent since its Hong Kong listing.
CStone
CStone Pharmaceuticals, a Chinese biotech stock, is exploring strategic alternatives to its current business model. The company has hired Goldman Sachs to solicit interest from prospective buyers. However, it has not named the sources of its interest. Still, investors are cautious about CStone, and the company’s shares are at the lower end of their 52-week trading range.
The company raised $260 million in its B round in February 2013, using the proceeds to advance its clinical-stage assets. Among them is CS1001, an anti-PD-L1 antibody. In addition, CStone has already partnered with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., which holds a 9.8% stake. Its other investors include Hillhouse Capital Group, Sequoia Capital China, and the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.
CStone has also recently made a number of deals in the past year. It signed a deal with Pfizer to develop and commercialize its drug Cejemly in mainland China. As part of the agreement, Pfizer will receive an equity investment worth nearly $200 million. In addition, the two companies will also co-develop several oncology drugs for the greater China market.
BeiGene
A life sciences biotechnology company based in Beijing, China, BeiGene was founded in October 2010. The company’s lead drug candidate is an immunotherapy for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma. It is the first Chinese biotech company to obtain FDA approval for a drug to treat mantle cell lymphoma. The company recently went public, listing its shares on the HKEX in August 2018. The company is also a major shareholder in several other Chinese biotech companies, including Kintor, Aprea Therapeutics, BridgeBio Pharma, and BeiGene, Ltd.
The company is ramping up revenue with its approved drugs, while pursuing a global expansion strategy with its PD-1 antibody. The company’s deal with Novartis could help it penetrate the international market for its PD-1 antibody. Despite the company’s recent losses, the company has enough cash to sustain a few years of losses before it is able to turn a profit.
Although BeiGene’s Nasdaq-listed shares fell more than 20% in February due to the growth stock sell-off, the company bounced back a few days later, bouncing 34% on March 16. However, the company is still 50% below its previous peak, which it reached in September 2020. Analysts do not expect the stock to reach that level, but they expect it to get close.
Tango Therapeutics, Inc.
Tango Therapeutics is a precision oncology company developing targeted immunotherapies for cancer. Its pipeline includes TNG908 and a ubiquitin-specific protease inhibitor. TNG908 is a synthetic lethal PRMT5 inhibitor that works selectively in cancer cells with MTAP deletion.
Tango Therapeutics has been awarded several research grants and has generated a large amount of venture capital. The company is focused on discovering new drug targets and developing novel immunotherapies. It has a lead program that is a synthetic lethal small molecule inhibitor of protein arginine methyltransferase 5. Its programs also include targeting the STK11 mutation and targeting the ubiquitin-specific protease. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The company plans to raise $342 million in its initial public offering. Tango anticipates receipt of $111 million in cash proceeds from the trust account of BCTG, as well as $156 million in cash proceeds from PIPE investors. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. Tango Therapeutics will be led by Dr. Barbara Weber. The company plans to list its common stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “TNGX.”
Illumina, Inc.
The name Illumina, Inc., suggests that the company develops and manufactures integrated systems for the analysis of biological function and genetic variation. This American biotechnology company was founded in 1998. The company produces DNA sequencing kits that allow researchers to look at more than just one gene at a time. They can also analyze a whole population of cells, allowing scientists to discover which genes have the highest variation.
Founded in April 1998, Illumina, Inc. is an American company that designs, manufactures, and markets integrated systems for large-scale genetic analysis. Its offerings serve genomic research centers and biotechnology companies worldwide, enabling them to conduct genome-wide analysis. Their instruments are designed to facilitate the use of genomic and biomedical research and develop new technologies.
The company was founded in 1998 by David Walt and the CW Group. It was headquartered in San Diego, California, and completed an initial public offering in July 2000.
