HONG KONG – In the wake of a pair of deals in just two months that would expand its European footprint, Chinese biopharmaceutical company 3SBio Inc. is getting ready for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong.

Such a listing would see the company return to a public market two years after delisting from Nasdaq in a $370 million deal done by a consortium led by CEO Jing Lou and investment firm Citic Private Equity.

3SBio filed an application proof with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), which provides information about the company in preparation for a listing. The company has not yet said how many shares it will issue or the value of the IPO, but noted that it is co-sponsored by Citic Securities International, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The notice said 3SBio has a pipeline of 20 product candidates: eight in nephrology, six in oncology that include three monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics and several targeting autoimmune diseases.

The company is looking to raise as much as $500 million. While there is no target date for the IPO, it is expected this year.

The listing would follow on the footsteps of Luye Group Ltd. (HK:2186), which raised $764 million in Hong Kong in July, two years after delisting in Singapore. Luye's issue was one of the most successful of the year. Priced at HK5.92 (US76 cents), Luye has risen more than 50 percent, trading at HK9.05 at the end of January. Luye planned its IPO around this time last year. (See BioWorld Today, June 26, 2014.)

"Our scale and timeline should resemble their IPO last year," said Jiang Fei, director of business development at 3SBio, referring to Luye's offering, though he told BioWorld Asia the "final price of the shares and the launching date will remain disclosed until the board has discussed and agreed on this matter."

3SBio's filing with the HKEx follows a number of deal announcements, the latest of which included the firm's plans to expand into Europe through the acquisition of Sirton Pharmaceuticals SpA.

Although no financial details were released, the acquisition is one in a series of deals that 3SBio has undertaken in the last year, which put the privately owned company on a clear expansion path.

CHINA AND BEYOND

In November, 3SBio in-licensed a cancer drug candidate from South Korean biotech Pharmabcine Inc. The deal gives 3SBio rights to market tanibirumab, an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) antibody, in Greater China as well as Thailand, Brazil and Russia. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 21, 2015).

3SBio announced on Jan. 26 plans to acquire the entire share capital of Italy-based Sirton from First Shanghai Limited (HK:0227), a Hong Kong-based investment company that acquired Sirton since 2011. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Sirton is a pharmaceutical contract manufacturing company that produces a series of injectable products such as pre-filled syringes, liquid vials, freeze-dried vials and ampoules and also offers pharmaceutical development services. That acquisition could help 3SBio expand its geographic footprint and access a range of products that could complement its own pipeline. 3SBio currently focuses on research and development, manufacture and marketing of biopharmaceutical products, including Epiapo, an injectable recombinant human erythropoientin (EPO) that now has a 40 percent market share in Mainland China.

"Expanding 3SBio's footprint in key developed markets is a core strategic objective," said 3SBio's Lou. "With a team of experienced professionals and a client base of leading pharmaceutical companies, Sirton provides 3SBio with a solid base to manufacture, develop and market pharmaceutical products in Europe."

Sirton provides service for a range of pharmaceutical companies across Europe, including Teva Italia, Crinos and Hospira Inc. in Italy, as well as Teva and Sandoz-Hexal in Germany, Sanofi Aventis and Aguettant in France, and UCB SA in Belgium. Sirton also works with Mylan Inc. in the U.S.

In turn, the acquisition also should help Sirton expand its international footprint, said Managing Director Giorgio Biella. In particular, it should make it easier to tap into the growing Chinese market.

"3SBio's proven R&D capabilities, global business development strategies and strong financial position will complement Sirton's existing client relationships and manufacturing experience in Europe," said Biella.

Since its establishment in 1993, 3SBio has been growing rapidly, but its focus has been mostly on China. The company has operations that span 31 provinces and it distributes its products through a network of 461 marketing professionals and 110 distributors.

Its line-up includes both in-house developed products and a list of in-licensed products.

Two of its best-known products are Epiao and Tpiao. Tpiao is a recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTPO) injection, an endogenous cytokine that stimulates the growth and differentiation of megakaryocyte. It is the first rhTPO approved in China and is used to treat thrombocytopenia in cancer patients.

Last year, 3SBio acquired several exclusive licenses of treatments from global partners including South Korea's Pharmaabcine and Dinona. Last August, 3SBio acquired from Dinona the rights to manufacture and market leukotuximab, an anti-JL-1 monomclonal antibody, in Greater China and parts of the Middle East.

In November, the company entered an alliance with Jenkem Technology Co. to manufacture and market cancer drug polyethylene glycol in China.

It also out-licensed its pegsticase to Selecta Biosciences from the U.S.