Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEX) has taken the first step towards allowing listings on the market via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), also known as “blank check” companies. The move has left biotech companies wondering if the change could provide the next big opportunity to join the market after pre-revenue companies were first allowed to list there under a 2018 main board listing rule paved the path for them to do so.
Pepgen Inc., a company developing new therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) from its Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotide platform, has closed an oversubscribed $112.5 million crossover financing. Funds from the round will be used to advance the DMD and DM1 candidates to the clinic in 2022 and 2023, respectively, as well as to expand its Boston-based team. The latest round follows Pepgen’s $45 million series A, led by RA Capital and announced in December 2020.
There’s a lot of competition in the regulatory T cells (Tregs) space and that’s a sign that something good is happening. Sonoma Biotherapeutics Inc. CEO Jeff Bluestone likened it to a typical drive leading to an everyday observation.
Jiangsu Gdk Biotechnology Co. Ltd. will further develop its vaccine pipeline after it started trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Star Market on Aug. 2, where it raised ¥1.21 billion ($187 million) through an initial public offering of 22 million shares. The company plans to use the proceeds from the listing to establish a manufacturing plant to produce its quadrivalent influenza vaccine and invest in R&D for other vaccine candidates, as well as replenish working capital and repay bank loans.
Zentera Therapeutics Inc. completed a $75 million series B financing round to help further its candidates in China, as it paves the way for a listing in Hong Kong next year.
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