Chinese biotech company Leads Biolabs has hit the Hong Kong stock exchange, snagging $189 million through an initial public offering on the HKEX.
The Nanjing-based antibody aficionado plans to use the windfall first and foremost on clinical trials, the company said in a July 24 release. About $123 million will go to clinical research, with the rest of the funds set to fuel preclinical development, manufacturing upgrades and general operations.
Shares were priced at 35 Hong Kong dollars (about $4.40 in USD) a pop, and Leads has taken the stock code 09887.
"Our HKEX debut represents a major leap from laboratory innovation to global capital markets, accelerating our innovation-driven international expansion,” Leads founder and CEO Xiaoqiang Kang said in the release. “At this inflection point, we reaffirm our founding commitment to eradicating disease while maintaining the entrepreneurial vigor that defines us.”
Leads’ immune-oncology pipeline includes monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, T cell engagers and antibody-drug conjugates. The company has 14 assets filling its pipeline, with six currently in the clinic.
While mainly cancer-focused, including assets for blood cancers and solid tumors, Leads also has two candidates in preclinical development for undisclosed autoimmune diseases. One of these, LBL-051, has been licensed to a new biotech called Oblenio Bio, which Leads helped launch in partnership with venture capital firm Aditum Bio.
In return for $35 million in upfront and near-term payments, Oblenio obtained the exclusive option to develop and commercialize LBL-051 worldwide. Leads is also eligible to net $579 million in milestone payments on top of royalties.
LBL-051 is designed to bind to CD3 on T cells and CD19 and BCMA on B cells, bringing the two together so that the T cells can target and destroy B cells that have gone awry in autoimmune diseases. Leads developed the asset using its LeadBody antibody platform.