Insilico Medicine Inc aims to list in Hong Kong as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter, rounding out a more than four-year effort to go public.
The company, a drug discovery and development platform supported by generative artificial intelligence, intends to raise about $300 million, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission released a statement Tuesday evening saying it approved Insilico issuing as many as 108.9 million shares.
Insilico had earlier declined to comment on the timing and size of an offering.
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Insilico has operations in the Chinese mainland as well as offices in China’s Taiwan, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, the US and Canada. It earns revenue by selling access to its AI drug discovery software, collaborating with industry peers, and licensing assets to clients such as Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co and Exelixis Inc.
If the initial public offering happens, the company would be riding a wave of healthcare sector share sales in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng Biotech Index has climbed 76 percent this year, outdoing the main Hang Seng Index’s 27 percent gain.
Insilico has been working toward an IPO since as early as 2021, when it considered a US listing, people familiar with the matter said at the time. That never materialized, and the firm pivoted to Hong Kong, where it has filed four times for an IPO from 2023, the stock exchange’s website shows.
Companies with roots in the mainland that seek IPOs overseas, including in Hong Kong, have to get clearance from the CSRC. Insilico filed its latest listing application to the Hong Kong stock exchange a month ago.
Insilico was founded in 2014. It secured $110 million in a financing round led by Value Partners Group earlier this year. Other backers include Warburg Pincus, US biotech investor OrbiMed Advisors LLC and the venture arm of Eli Lilly & Co.
