Ascentage Pharma Prices U.S. IPO at $17.25 per ADS

Ascentage Pharma Group International (HK:6855) has priced its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) at $17.25 per American depositary share (ADS), before underwriting discounts and commissions. The company is offering 7,325,000 ADSs, which represent four ordinary shares each. The gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately $126.4 million, with an additional 1,098,750 ADSs available for purchase by the underwriters within 30 days. The ADSs are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on January 24, 2025, under the ticker symbol "AAPGV" on a "when-issued" basis, and on January 27, 2025, under the ticker symbol "AAPG" for "regular-way" trading. The offering is expected to close on January 28, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

J.P. Morgan and Citigroup are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 23, 2025. Copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citigroup.

Ascentage Pharma is a global, integrated biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovering, developing, and commercializing therapies to address global unmet medical needs primarily in hematological malignancies. The company has been listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEx) since October 28, 2019, under the stock code "6855.HK." On January 17, 2025, the closing sale price of the company's ordinary shares on the HKEx was HK$39.60 per ordinary share, equivalent to a price of US$20.34 per ADS, assuming an exchange rate of HK$7.7864 to US$1.00, which is the exchange rate set forth for cable transfers in the City of New York, as certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on January 10, 2025.

Ascentage Pharma's lead assets, olverembatinib and lisaftoclax, have global potential to address major hematological malignancies, including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and multiple myeloma (MM). The global market for these indications is expected to exceed US$166 billion in aggregate market size by 2035, according to a report commissioned by Ascentage Pharma and independently prepared by Frost & Sullivan.

Ascentage Pharma has completed or ongoing U.S. and/or international registrational trials for its five key clinical-stage assets. The company's first lead asset, olverembatinib, is a novel, next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and the first and only BCR-ABL1 inhibitor approved in China for treating patients with CML in chronic phase (CML-CP) with T315I mutations, CML in accelerated phase (CML-AP) with T315I mutations, and CML-CP that is resistant or intolerant to first and second-generation TKIs. Olverembatinib has demonstrated favorable clinical benefit and tolerability in heavily pretreated patients, with 52.2% and 47.8% of ponatinib-resistant patients achieving complete cytogenic response (CCyR) and major molecular response (MMR), respectively, and 30.8% and 26.7% of asciminib-resistant patients achieving CCyR and MMR, respectively. In a five-year follow-up of CML-CP patients treated with olverembatinib, 73% had remained on the treatment, response rates continued to increase, and the prevalence of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) continued to decrease over time.

Ascentage Pharma's second lead asset, lisaftoclax, is a BCL-2 inhibitor being developed for the treatment of relapsed and/or refractory (R/R) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), as well as other blood cancers. In China, Ascentage Pharma has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for lisaftoclax, and if approved, the company plans to launch the drug in 2025. 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 Pharma's IPO pricing is competitive with other recent biotech IPOs, such as Odyssey Therapeutics, which priced its shares at $16.00 each, Sionna Therapeutics and Maze Therapeutics, both of which priced their shares at $18.00 and $20.00, respectively, and Metsera, which priced its shares at $15.00 each. Ascentage Pharma's strong pipeline, successful clinical trials, strategic partnerships, market potential, and strong financial performance contribute to its growth prospects and valuation.

Ascentage Pharma's IPO pricing reflects the company's strong fundamentals and growth prospects in the biotech sector. Investors looking for exposure to innovative drug candidates targeting global unmet medical needs should consider Ascentage Pharma as a potential investment opportunity.