TheraVectys SA is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, a rare move for a non-Chinese biotech firm to list in the Asian financial hub.
The France- and US-based immunotherapy company is working with advisers on a potential offering to raise a few hundred million dollars, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
A share sale could take place as soon as this year, the sources added.
Considerations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, they said. A TheraVectys representative didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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A Hong Kong listing by TheraVectys, led by Chief Executive Officer Ye Tian, would be unusual as non-Chinese biotech firms typically choose Europe or the US.
China is increasingly challenging Western dominance in innovation and reshaping the biotech industry. And Hong Kong is proving attractive following a rally in biotech stocks and successful IPOs by Chinese drugmakers.
About $13 billion was raised in health-care share sales in Hong Kong last year, mostly from biotech IPOs as well as follow-on offerings, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Hang Seng Biotech Index has surged 82 percent in 12 months.
A spinoff from Institut Pasteur, TheraVectys develops lentiviral vectors to prevent and treat cancer and other diseases. Its backers include Tethys Invest SAS, the investment firm of L’Oreal SA heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and her family.
