The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's disclosure on June 27, British Silicon Intelligence submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Morgan Stanley and CICC as co-sponsors.
According to the prospectus, British Silicon Intelligence is an AI biotechnology company that provides end-to-end efficient solutions in the pipeline development process. Its business covers the United States, Greater China, Canada and the Middle East. In 2019, the company established its Hong Kong headquarters. The team consists of disease modelling and target discovery scientists and generative artificial intelligence engineers led by the CEO living in Hong Kong. The company's generative AI platform can quickly and effectively promote a completely independently designed and developed AIDD pipeline composed mainly of new drug candidates.In terms of major cooperation, the company has cooperated with Fosun and Sanofi.
As of the final practical date (referring to June 20, 2023), British Silicon Intelligence has effectively established a diversified complete internal generation pipeline composed of 31 projects, covering 29 drug targets. The core product ISM001-055 (also known as INS018_055) is a small-molecule drug candidate mainly used to treat fibrosis-related indications by inhibiting TNIK. TNIK is a novel anti-fibrosis target identified through the company's Pharma.AI platform. In April 2023, British Silicon Intelligence launched a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase IIa clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, PK and efficacy of ISM001-055 in China, and plans to launch phase IIa clinical trials in the US in the second half of 2023. Additionally, ISM001-055 was certified as an orphan drug by the FDA in February 2023, making the company eligible for incentives, including potential market exclusivity for seven years after approval.
In terms of drug development,British Silicon Intelligence has established a technology-leading target discovery and verification laboratory in Suzhou, China, combining Pharma.AI backbone technology and its full generation capabilities with wet laboratory capabilities to automate various drug development workflows while reducing human and experimental biases. In terms of generative AI technology, Pharma.AI can quickly discover new targets (including targets that were previously untreatable), efficiently generate drug candidates, and predict the likelihood that drug candidates will succeed in clinical trials.
In terms of market sizeThe company's core product, ISM001-055, is designed to treat IPF, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs. According to Frost & Sullivan's data, the number of new IPF cases in the world increased from 534,300 in 2017 to 575,300 in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 1.9%. The number of new cases is expected to continue to increase to 6193 million cases in 2025 and 685,200 cases in 2030. The compound annual growth rates from 2021 to 2030 are 1.9% and 2.0%, respectively. Currently, only two drugs have been approved globally to treat IPF, namely pifenidone and nidanib, both of which were first approved in 2014. Both are offered by the US, EU, and China.
Financial aspectsIn 2021 and 2022, British Silicon Intelligence's revenue was approximately US$4.713 million and US$30.147 million, respectively; R&D expenses for the same period lost US$38,489 million and US$78.175 million respectively. The company said it was mainly due to the increase in third-party contract costs paid to CRO and CDMO from US$27.6 million in 2021 to US$53.8 million in 2022, and pipeline expansion increasing labor costs from US$7.8 million in 2021 to US$16 million in 2022.
