Ascentage is looking to use the IPO proceeds to advance its Phase III candidates for chronic or small lymphocytic leukemia and for certain types of chronic myeloid leukemia.
Suzhou-based Ascentage Pharma is looking to join the growing class of biotechs debuting on the Nasdaq in 2025, unveiling plans on Tuesday to raise a net of around $133.9 million in an initial public offering.
In its SEC filing, Ascentage wrote that “the principal purposes of this offering are to obtain additional capital to support our operations, create a public market for the [American depositary shares (ADS)], increase our visibility in our markets, and facilitate our future access to the public equity for us and our shareholders.” Foreign companies use ADSs to represent their shares on the U.S. stock exchange.
Primarily, Ascentage hopes to leverage the IPO proceeds to advance its pipeline. Around $50 million to $60 million, for instance, will help the biotech pursue approval for its BCL-2 blocker lisaftoclax in China and prepare for its commercial launch in the country. Meanwhile, $30 million to $40 million will go toward the development of its tyrosine kinase inhibitor olverembatinib in the U.S. and other countries.
The remaining money will be used for R&D activities for its other pipeline assets and for general corporate purposes.
The Hong Kong-listed biotech has also offered underwriters an option to acquire additional ADSs, which if fully exercised could bump up the IPO raise to nearly $155 million.
Ascentage in its SEC document lists olverembatinib, which is being tested for specific kinds of chronic myeloid leukemia, as its first lead asset. The drug is approved in China and is currently being trialed in the U.S. as a monotherapy in the registrational Phase III POLARIS-2 study. The biotech plans to file a New Drug Application for olverembatinib in 2026.
Lisaftoclax, Ascentage’s second lead asset, is being developed in China for several hematological malignancies. In the U.S., the company is currently running the registrational Phase III GLORA trial of lisaftoclax, combined with BTK inhibitors, for chronic or small lymphocytic leukemia, and the late-stage GLORA-2 trial, which combines lisaftoclax with acalabrutinib.
Ascentage’s IPO bid on Tuesday comes as tensions between the U.S. and China escalate—and as the industry nevertheless continues to pump its dealmaking dollars into the Asian giant.
In August 2024, the House Select Committee on the CCP wrote to former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf to flag ethical concerns regarding the “alarming practice” of some U.S. companies that work with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to conduct clinical trials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The lawmakers cited “credible investigative reports” that hospitals in the region often force Uyghurs to surrender their bodily autonomy.
Meanwhile, the BIOSECURE Act—designed to prevent taxpayer dollars from reaching biotech companies deemed to be national security concerns—continues to wend its way through the American legislative process. In September 2024, the Congress overwhelmingly passed the bill, which now awaits its day in the Senate.
Still, at the 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference last week, many company executives said that they will continue to turn to China for innovative candidates. At a reporter roundtable, Gilead Chief Financial Officer Andrew Dickinson said that while the pharma is “obviously being cautious” about data protection matters, “I wouldn’t say that we’re holding off or hesitating at all” regarding Chinese licensing deals.
Four other biotechs have launched their IPO bids this year so far: Maze Therapeutics, Metsera, Sionna Therapeutics and Odyssey Therapeutics.
