Chinese Drug Maker Kintor Makes Hong Kong Trading Debut After $240m IPO

Chinese drug maker Kintor Pharmaceutical on Friday made its trading debut on the Main Board of the Hong Kong stock exchange after an HK$1.86 billion ($240 million) initial public offering (IPO).

Its stock closed at HK$21.5 ($2.77) on Friday, slightly higher than the offer price of HK$20.15 ($2.6). The pharma company sold 92.35 million common shares in its IPO, which was more than 500 times oversubscribed.

In a stock exchange filing, the pharma company said its net proceeds from the IPO stood at HK$1.75 billion ($125.25 million). Kintor could raise an additional HK$270.7 million (nearly $35 million) if an over-allotment option were to be exercised.

Earlier this month, Kintor had secured $115 million from cornerstone investors including an arm of state-owned electronic appliance giant Gree, healthcare-focused Highlight Capital, and Foresight Fund. 

Huatai International served as the principal underwriter, while joint book-runners included CMB International, China Renaissance, Haitong, CCB International and Everbright Sun Hung Kai. 

Kintor, which was co-founded by Dr. Youzhi Tong in 2009, develops drugs for prostate cancer and other androgen receptor-related diseases. Headquartered in Suzhou, it has offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong and the US.

Its flagship drug for prostate cancer treatment, proxalutamide, is currently undergoing clinical trials in China and the US and is expected to receive approval for commercialisation in China later this year.

Kintor made a loss of 233 million yuan ($33 million) in 2019. It seeks to use the IPO proceeds to facilitate clinical trials, develop a hair loss drug, accelerate R&D and meet working capital needs. 

Since 2011, Kintor has completed nine rounds of financing from investors including Legend Holding’s Legend Star, China Construction Bank’s CCB International, state-owned FTZ Fund, SZ-listed Huajin Capita, among others.