HONG KONG: Hutchison China MediTech Limited, the commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovery, development and commercialization of targeted therapies and immunotherapies for oncology and immunological diseases, has submitted a listing application The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong to apply for the listing of, and permission to deal in, its Shares on the Main Board of the SEHK.
In connection with the proposed listing on the SEHK, the Company proposes to undertake a global offering of its Shares. Currently, the Company’s Shares are admitted for trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and its American Depositary Shares (ADS), each representing one-half of one Share, are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Simon To, Chairman of Chi-Med, commented: “We are delighted to announce our proposed Hong Kong listing and global offering of Shares. The current pace of development of the biotech ecosystem in China is remarkable. It is being fueled by the major unmet medical needs in China, systemic regulatory reforms that are accelerating new drug innovation and deepening market access. This positive industry background has been bolstered by the introduction of new SEHK listing rules aimed at expanding efficient access to growth capital for biotech companies in the region. We now see great benefit in seeking a listing in Hong Kong, our home market, to supplement our already highly successful AIM and Nasdaq listings. We expect the listing to enhance liquidity for our shareholders and strengthen our access to capital with a view to ensuring that we can fully realize the considerable potential of our drug portfolio and continue to strive to become a global biopharmaceutical company.”
Although the final structure and size of the potential Offering is yet to be determined, Chi-Med expects that the net proceeds from any primary sale of Shares in the Offering, when completed, will be used mainly to fund the late-stage clinical development of its global and China pipeline and advance its pipeline of clinical-stage drug candidates, which will be described in Chi-Med’s Hong Kong prospectus to be issued in connection with the Hong Kong public offering of the Shares if the Offering proceeds.
Christian Hogg, CEO of Chi-Med, commented: “We have a highly productive discovery engine, a world-class scientific team of well over 400 people and an expanding pipeline, currently of eight drug candidates in over 30 clinical trials in China and around the world. We are targeting two further new drug approvals over the next two years, on savolitinib and surufatinib, subject to positive clinical outcomes, to add to last year’s launch in China of Elunate (fruquintinib capsules), for colorectal cancer. Together with the new listing, we believe this strong platform will allow Chi-Med to reinforce our position as a leading innovator in China oncology and to move forward at speed with the global development of our key drug candidates.”
CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, currently the Company’s majority shareholder with a 60.2% shareholding, has informed the Company that it plans a secondary sale of a portion of its Shares in Chi-Med through the Offering. CKHH has also informed Chi-Med that it intends to reduce its shareholding to below 50% both to improve liquidity in Chi-Med’s Shares and in order that Chi-Med would no longer be a consolidated subsidiary in the financial statements of CKHH. [the_ad id=”31605″]