HONG KONG – Venture capital investment into most sectors in China has generally plunged throughout the COVID-19 pandemic but biotechnology has been a noticeable exception. China’s biotech industry has continued to attract investors, not only because of its importance in dealing with the pandemic but also as a result of increased maturity and a growing list of government incentives.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Acutus Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:AFIB) decided to go down the IPO route. It officially started trading today after reporting its offering of more than 8.8 million shares of its common stock at $18 per share, with expected gross proceeds of $158.8 million. Last month, the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company estimated that the IPO price per share would be between $16 and $18.

HONG KONG – Venture capital investment into most sectors in China has generally plunged throughout the COVID-19 pandemic but biotechnology has been a noticeable exception.

The biopharmaceutical sector welcomed a further 11 new IPO graduates in July, bringing the number to 39 that have started to trade on the U.S. markets this year. The companies going public last month collectively raised more than $2.5 billion and most of them made a favorable impression following their first day of trading, with the group increasing their share values by an average of 16%.

HONG KONG – Looking to boost its R&D capacity, China’s Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. launched an IPO on July 22 that raised ¥1.7 billion (US$240 million) on Shanghai’s STAR market. Shares (SSE:688336) almost doubled in value on the first day of trading, closing at ¥54.10, for a gain of 92%.

Four IPOs from biopharmas chasing an aggregate $781.8 million launched on Friday with mixed results. Two of the companies, Inozyme Pharma Inc. and Annexon Inc., finished the day in positive territory while the other two, Iteos Therapeutics Inc. and Nurix Therapeutics Inc., saw their shares close flat.

HONG KONG – Looking to boost its R&D capacity, China’s Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. launched an IPO on July 22 that raised ¥1.7 billion (US$240 million) on Shanghai’s STAR market. Shares (SSE:688336) almost doubled in value on the first day of trading, closing at ¥54.10, for a gain of 92%.

Med-tech IPOs continue to make it out onto a strong stock market, even as global economic uncertainty prevails amidst the unfolding pandemic. Single-cell biology research company Berkeley Lights Inc. priced an upsized IPO to raise $178.2 million to back its tools that are used to help develop antibody therapeutics, cell therapies and, more broadly, synthetic biology products.

Robust financial markets continue to fuel the industry despite gloom over the COVID-19 pandemic, with Relay Therapeutics Inc. pricing its upsized, 20 million-share IPO at $20 per unit to reap $400 million.