fOur law firms facilitated the IPO of HKD319 million (US$40.7 million) ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals on the HKEX, breaking a 50-day pause in listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Partners Liu Yiming and Michael Yu led Cooley’s team and advised ImmuneOnco on legal issues in Hong Kong and the US, with support from partners Xander Lee, Francis Wheeler and Eric Blanchard.
JunHe advised the issuer on PRC law as well as PRC and US intellectual property law. Locke Lord was specifically tasked with analyzing a certain relevant patent in support of JunHe.
Kirkland & Ellis acted as advisors to joint sponsors Morgan Stanley and CICC in Hong Kong and the US. Capital markets partners Lu Mengyu and Samantha Peng led the team, with support from tax partner Anne Kim and mutual fund partner Kim Kaufman.
Jingtian and Gongcheng acted as PRC advisors to the joint sponsors.
Harvest Fund, WuXi Biologics, RemeGen and ClinChoice were the top investors.
ImmuneOnco, a company specializing in cancer immunotherapy, is currently operating at a loss. However, the company has developed a portfolio of 14 drug candidates, eight of which have reached the clinical stage.
The debut of this company has attracted attention in the Hong Kong IPO market since it has not been listed since July 18, and coincided with investigations into corruption in the healthcare sector in China, which have been ongoing since late July.
Reuters previously quoted sources as reporting that the SSE issued an internal release in late July urging brokers and attorneys to ensure the compliance and legality of medical companies’ sales and advertising activities. The SSE also stressed the importance of disclosure of information in prospectuses for companies seeking an IPO.
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