Hong Kong attracts wave of biotech IPO filings amid AI drug research boom

More than 10 loss-making biotechnology companies have filed for Hong Kong stock exchange listings this year, bringing cutting-edge drugs and artificial intelligence-powered drug discovery platforms to market, as the city’s bourse presses ahead with reforms aimed at supporting the real economy.

The latest applications came as healthcare and biotechnology equity capital market activity – stock sales by companies and their shareholders – in Hong Kong reached US$15.6 billion last year, the second highest globally and the city’s strongest showing since 2021, according to data compiled by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX).

A pair of AI-powered medical platform firms, Hangzhou Diagens Biotechnology and Exegenesis Bio, also from Hangzhou, are among those seeking initial public offerings (IPOs) amid a wave of investor interest in AI drug platforms globally.

The former has cleared Hong Kong’s listing committee hearing and is expected to begin trading shortly. Huatai International is acting as the deal’s sole sponsor.

Diagens used an AI-powered medical platform to help doctors detect genetic abnormalities, reducing chromosome analysis time from an average of 30 days to between four and seven days, an exchange filing showed.

The digital tool is expected to receive approval from China’s drug regulator in the first quarter of this year. The company plans to expand the platform’s use to blood cancer diagnosis and aims to file for US Food and Drug Administration approval in April.