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Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Goldman Sachs and UBS as joint sponsors of biopharmaceutical company CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited (02171.HK)’s mainboard listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

CARsgen Therapeutics focuses on innovative CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors with operations in China and the US. The company has 11 products in the pipeline (10 are CAR-T cell therapies focused) with six at pre-clinic stage. With seven IND clearances for CAR-T therapies in China, the US and Canada, the company ranks the first among Chinese CAR-T companies.

The IPO was over-subscribed more than 400 times at the Hong Kong public offering, raised over HK$3.1 billion (approximately US$400 million), and listed on 18 June 2021. The offering attracted nine cornerstone investors that subscribed to almost 50% of the issued shares.

"We are delighted to have worked with CARsgen, one of the leading CAR-T cell therapies specialists on its successful listing on the HKEx," said Hong Kong partner Matt Emsley. “CARsgen is the latest to take advantage of the Exchange's Chapter 18A biotech/pharma changes to its Listing Rules to leverage the capital markets successfully.”

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised on a number of biotech listings since the Hong Kong exchange introduced its new regime for biotech listings in 2018, including those by Shanghai Junshi Biosciences (01877.HK), TOT BIOPHARM (01875.HK), SinoMab Bioscience Limited (03681.HK), Peijia Medical (09996.HK) and Antengene Corporation Limited (06996.HK).

"CARsgen Therapeutics is another emerging Chinese biopharmaceutical company with proprietary R&D capabilities, and more are in the IPO pipeline this year,” said Herbert Smith Freehills Kewei joint operation partner Stanley Xie. "We congratulate CARsgen Therapeutics and sponsors on this successful IPO."

CARsgen Therapeutics' vision is to become a global biopharmaceutical leader that brings innovative and differentiated cell therapies to cancer patients worldwide, they also believe that they are a key player in the field of CAR-T cell therapies – a market where global sales are expected to increase from US$0.7 billion in 2019 to US$6.6 billion in 2024, and three-fold to US$21.8 billion in 2030.

Matt and Stanley jointly led the team advising the sponsors, assisted by partner Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan in Singapore; of counsel George Wu, senior associate Maisie Ko, associates Echo Shen and Angela Yuen, and legal manager Hilary Chong in Hong Kong, and associate Sean Ji from the joint operation. Sydney solicitor Sunny Li, Hong Kong trainee solicitor Jasmin Tsang and paralegal Alisha Chan and paralegal Jessica Sun from the joint operation also provided support.

Associate Director Lucy Yao led Herbert Smith Freehills Kewei Joint Operation’s Alternative Legal Services business to provide high-efficiency solutions for verification and other document-intensive processes during the offering, assisted by Senior Lawyer Helen Liang, Legal Specialist Selina Wang and Legal Analyst Shawna Peng.

全球领先的律师事务所 史密夫斐尔作为生物制药公司科济药业(02171.HK)联席保荐人高盛和瑞银的境外律师,为其在香港联交所主板上市提供法律服务。

科济药业专注于研发治疗各类血液恶性肿瘤和实体肿瘤的创新型CAR-T细胞疗法,在中国和美国均有业务。该公司有11款候选产品(10款专注于CAR-T细胞疗法),其中6款处于临床阶段。科济药业已在中国、美国和加拿大获得7个CAR-T疗法的IND认证,在中国CAR-T公司中排名第一。

科济药业在首次公开募股中获得超400倍认购,融资超过31亿港元(约合4亿美元),于2021年6月18日开始在香港联交所交易。其中,9位基石投资者认购约占50%。

史密夫斐尔香港办公室合伙人艾迈修(Matt Emsley)表示:“科济药业是CAR-T细胞疗法领域的龙头公司之一,我们非常荣幸为其在港交所上市提供助力。这是又一家受益于港交所2018年推出的主板上市规则第18A章节成功实现上市的公司。”

自港交所于2018年放宽生物技术公司上市条件以来,史密夫斐尔已为多家公司在港上市提供法律服务,包括君实生物(01877.HK)、东曜药业(01875.HK)、中国抗体(03681.HK)、沛嘉医疗(09996.HK)和德琪医药(06996.HK)。

科伟史密夫斐尔联营办公室合伙人谢守德表示:“科济药业是又一家具有自主研发能力的中国新型生物制药公司。还有更多此类公司正在筹备今年上市。衷心向科济药业和保荐人表示祝贺。”

科济药业的目标是成为全球生物制药领域的领先企业,为全球癌症患者带来创新和差异化的细胞疗法。公司相信自己是CAR-T细胞疗法领域的关键参与者 —— 该市场的销售额将从2019年的7亿美元增长到2024年的66亿美元,到2030年将增长三倍,达到218亿美元。

合伙人艾迈修和谢守德率领律师团队为此次上市联席保荐人提供法律服务。主要团队成员包括新加坡办公室合伙人Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan、香港办公室资深顾问吴卓人、高美诗(Senior Associate)、沈黄贇(Associate)、阮颖欣(Associate)、种欢子(Legal Manager),以及科伟史密夫斐尔上海联营办公室季晓源(Associate)。悉尼办公室Sunny Li(Solicitor)、香港办公室曾子悠(Trainee Solicitor)和陈颖岚(Paralegal)以及联营办公室孙菁(Paralegal)也提供了支持。

联营办公室替代性法律服务(ALT)联合团队在发行期间为招股书验证及其他文件密集型工作提供高效率的解决方案,主要成员包括梁琳(Senior Lawyer)、王思颖(Legal Specialist)和彭祺程(Legal Analyst)。

 

 

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Matthew Emsley

Managing Partner, China, Hong Kong

Matthew Emsley
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Stanley Xie

, Hong Kong

Stanley Xie

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Vivian Huang

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Beijing