HanX Biopharmaceuticals (Wuhan) Co has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), making it the 71st company from Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone (Optics Valley of China, or OVC) to go public. The IPO involved a global offering of 18.32 million shares, raising a total of HK$ 586 million ($75.37 million).

HanX Biopharmaceuticals (Wuhan) Co goes public at HKEX. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

Founded in 2014, HanX Bio specializes in developing innovative drugs for the precise treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company currently boasts a pipeline of 10 drug candidates, including three in clinical stages and seven in preclinical stages. The funds raised will primarily support product research and development.

The company's founder, Zhang Faming, is a professor and doctoral advisor at Wuhan University's School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. An entrepreneur in the innovative drug sector, Zhang has been active in OVC for 16 years and is among the first "Optics Valley 3551 Talents".

Zhang emphasized OVC's robust entrepreneurial environment, noting its high concentration of biopharmaceutical companies, centralized R&D and production facilities, and excellent logistics, making it an ideal location for life and health enterprises.

OVC now comprises 71 domestic and international listed companies, accounting for over 60 percent of Wuhan's listed companies and about one-third of Hubei province's total. In the life and health sector alone, OVC is home to nine listed companies.