Zhitong Financial APP learned that according to the disclosure of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 22, Heplatinum Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited-B applied for listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Securities and CITIC as co-sponsors.
Heplatinum Pharmaceuticals is a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of new and highly differentiated antibody therapies in the field of immune and tumor diseases. As of the latest practicable date, the company has more than ten diversified and balanced pipelines that could be differentiated drug candidates, of which Bartolizumab (core product), Tenercept (core product) and HBM4003 are under clinical development. Bartoli monoclonal antibody and tenacil are licensed from HanAll, not from the company and platinum antibody platforms.
According to the prospectus, the company's platinum antibody platforms (i.e. HCAb platform, HBICETM platform and H2L2 platform) constitute a comprehensive available technical solution for the discovery of a new generation of all-human antibody therapy. HCAb platform is a human antibody platform, which can produce different kinds of heavy chain-only antibodies (such as nano-antibodies, bispecific or multi-specific antibodies and CAR-T) and has good feasibility for development.
And Platinum Pharmaceuticals are committed to investing in their own platforms, creating new treatments and developing them into products to address a large number of unmet medical needs. The Platinum Antibody platform has been highly recognized by more than 45 biopharmaceutical industry and academic partners, of which six projects have entered the clinical phase as of June 30, 2020.
Industry prospect
In 2019, the global market for therapeutic antibodies is valued at about $163.9 billion. By contrast, although China's therapeutic antibody market was valued at about $4.2 billion in the same year, it grew at a CAGR of 32.4% between 2015 and 2019. In the past, the market was composed of monospecific antibodies until the first ADC drug was approved in January 2020, and monospecific antibodies were still the largest category. In the next 10 years, as more antibody drugs are included in the national health insurance drug catalogue and the number of biosimilar drugs available in China increases and innovative antibodies are introduced, China's therapeutic antibody market will continue to grow and reach US $25.3 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 43.4% from 2019 to 2024, and the market size will further grow to US $75.1 billion in 2030.
Therapeutic antibodies are used to treat diseases in a variety of therapeutic fields, such as oncology, immunology, neurology and ophthalmology, among which cancer and autoimmune diseases are the two major treatment areas, accounting for about 38.5% and 27.9% of the total number of therapeutic antibodies approved worldwide at the end of 2019, respectively.
financial status
At present, the products of Platinum Pharmaceutical have not been approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from the sale of the products. During the track record period, all of the company's revenue comes from licensing and cooperation arrangements with third parties, including technology license fees for using the transgenic mouse technology of the company and the platinum antibody platform; molecular license fees for the use of molecules generated by the company and the platinum antibody platform; and platform research fees for services related to the platinum antibody platform.
Revenues for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2019 and the six months ended 30 June 2020 were $1.483 million, $5.419 million and $6.07 million, respectively. Operating losses were $34.583 million, $67.496 million and $48.382 million, respectively. The operating loss of Heplatinum Pharmaceutical was mainly due to research and development costs, loss of fair value changes in convertible redeemable preferred shares and administrative expenses.
Research and development expenditures for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2019 and the six months ended 30 June 2020 were $31.63 million, $49.477 million and $15.198 million, respectively. The company conducts R & D business through innovative networks in China, the United States and Europe. The company's US R & D business is currently responsible for the research and discovery phase of drug candidates. The company's Dutch R & D business is currently responsible for the continued development of the company's H2L2 and HCAb platforms through cooperation with Erasmus Medical Center and other European academic institutions. As of June 30, 2020, the company has 143 employees and 6 consultants engaged in R & D, of which 136 are located in China, 12 in the United States and one in Europe.
Purpose of fund-raising:It is expected to fund the development of HBM9161, HBM9036, HBM4003 and other drug candidates that are seeking IND approval and have not yet begun clinical trials or preclinical studies, including HBM9302, HBM1007, HBM7008 and other new drug candidates; it is expected to fund the discovery of innovative molecules generated from platinum antibody platforms It is expected to be used to fund the continuous improvement of platform technology and to identify authorized cooperation opportunities through the antibody platform; it is expected to be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.