MENUInternational biotech startup to develop U-M anti-cancer compounds goes public
Media contact: Ian Demsky, 734-764-2220
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Ascentage Pharma Group International, a clinical stage biotechnology company that develops new therapies for cancer and other diseases, is now trading on Hong Kong’s stock exchange after an initial public offering.
The company was co-founded by University of Michigan faculty member Shaomeng Wang, Ph.D. -- Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Medicine at the U-M Medical School, and a professor of medicinal chemistry at the U-M College of Pharmacy -- to develop and market discoveries originating in his lab at U-M.
The company, which has expertise in developing compounds targeting protein-protein interactions and apoptosis, is conducting clinical trials to evaluate eight compounds, developing the potential therapies as a single agent or in combination with other therapies.
The company offered 5.9% of its stock on the Hong Kong exchange, raising $53 million and giving the company a market cap of approximately $898 million. The IPO was a hit, soaring as much as 57% before closing up nearly 10% in its first day of trading, Bloomberg News reported.
"This is an important milestone for Ascentage as the company works to accelerate its progress in obtaining clinical validation for their lead compounds," says Kelly Sexton, U-M associate vice president for research-technology transfer and innovation partnerships. "We hope that Ascentage will continue its progress and that the resulting therapeutics will have a major impact for improved treatment outcomes and quality of life for patients around the world."
Ascentage is registered in Cayman Islands, has a research and development headquarters in Suzhou, China, and has operations in China, the U.S. and Australia.
The company’s leading drug candidate, HQP-1351, is a kinase inhibitor targeting cancer patients with BCR-ABL mutations. It is being developed as a single agent for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
Ascentage also has several other key clinical programs, including small-molecule inhibitors of Bcl-2 (APG-2575), Bcl-2/Bcl-xL (APG-1252), MDM2 (APG-115) and IAP proteins (APG-1387), all of which were licensed from U-M.
Both Wang and the university have a stake in the company and stand to benefit financially from its success.