The drug developer stood out from the IPO crowd of unprofitable biotechs due to its existing revenue stream and a focus on novel remedies for renal disease
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Key Takeaways:
- Alebund plans to prioritize getting Chinese approval next year for its core product and is aiming for a U.S. launch in 2029
- The IPO drew 11 cornerstone backers including prominent names in global finance and biopharma investment
A host of pre-profit biotechs have listed in Hong Kong this year, taking advantage of relaxed rules for budding pharmaceutical pioneers, but the latest entrant has made a particularly big splash.
Alebund Pharmaceuticals (Jiangsu) Ltd. (9637.HK), which is developing a range of drugs to treat kidney disease, doubled its share price on the first day of trade, outperforming the seven previous biotech listings so far this year.
According to LiveReport Big Data, those earlier Chapter 18A newcomers achieved an average first-day gain of 72.72%. On its June 29 debut, Alebund opened 85.84% higher and stormed to a HK$46 finish, a rise of 103.54%.
The IPO was priced at HK$22.60 per share, with a lot size of 100 shares and a minimum investment of nearly HK$2,283. Around 56.76 million shares were on offer, representing 16.70% of the firm’s overall share capital, for projected gross proceeds of about HK$1.28 billion ($164 million). Enthusiastic investors piled in from the outset, with the offering oversubscribed by around 963 times and a one-lot success rate of just 6%.
Alebund is described in the prospectus as aspecialist developerof drugs for renal diseases whose discoveries are approaching the commercial stages. Founded in 2018, the biotech is developing seven pipeline programs, including a core product that aims to treat high phosphate levels in the blood resulting from renal disease.
The company was due to submit a new drug application in China for AP301, its oral phosphate binder, in June. The product is also undergoing Phase Three multi-regional trials in the United States and China. Alebund has pledged to prioritize bringing AP301 to the commercial market, predicting Chinese approval in 2027 and envisaging a U.S. launch in 2029.
The company said that AP301 would offer several benefits over currently available treatments, making it more effective and easier for patients to take. The pills can bind with more phosphate, do not have to be chewed before swallowing, expand at a low rate in digestive fluids and cause limited leakage into the bloodstream, according to the IPO paperwork.
Alebund is also developing another treatment for hyperphosphatemia in the form of an oral pan-phosphate transporter inhibitor. Phase Two B global trials of the drug, AP306, were launched in the United States and China in May and are due to complete in the second quarter of 2027. Alebund entered a partnership with U.S.-based R1 Therapeutics last year to develop the treatment overseas, in a deal combining licensing rights and equity.
Big backers but far from profit
With several drug candidates still in clinical development, Alebund remains deeply in the red, with losses of 335 million yuan ($49 million) in 2024 and 752 million yuan in 2025, mainly due to heavy R&D spending, which reached 235 million yuan and 373 million yuan for those two years.
It secured strong backing for the IPO, bringing in 11 cornerstone investors that subscribed for about $81.5 million in shares, representing 49.78% of the global offering. The investors included global sovereign wealth funds, specialist biopharma funds and major Chinese public fund managers, including GIC, Loomis Sayles, RTW funds, Tencent, GF Fund Management and China Universal Asset Management.
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Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.