Sidley Advises on the Hong Kong IPO of Wuhan YZY Biopharma Co., Ltd.

Sidley advised on the initial public offering (IPO) and H share listing of Wuhan YZY Biopharma Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 2496) (YZY Biopharma) on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) under Chapter 18A of the Hong Kong Listing Rules. The offering raised approximately HK$176 million (US$ 22.4 million). Sidley acted as legal counsel for the sole sponsor China Securities (International) Corporate Finance Company Limited and the underwriters.

Founded in 2010, YZY Biopharma is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing bispecific antibody (BsAb)-based therapies to treat cancer-associated complications, cancer and age related ophthalmologic diseases. It has designed and developed a pipeline of seven clinical-stage drug candidates, including its core product M701, a recombinant BsAb for which it is currently conducting a Phase II clinical trial in treating malignant ascites and a Phase Ib/II clinical trial in treating malignant pleural effusion, and six other drug candidates at various clinical stages.

The Sidley team was led by partners Meng Ding and Claudia Yu. Other team members included senior associate Dennis Chan, associates Cindy Liu and Yiming Chen, legal manager Zoe Yang, senior legal assistants Freddie Feng and Sia Yang, and legal assistants Andy Tam and Yinfeng Zhang.

Sidley is one of the leading international firms that have represented the majority of Chinese companies in Hong Kong IPOs. Since the launch of the Chapter 18A listing regime in April 2018, Sidley has been a market leader in advising biotech IPOs in Hong Kong. It is the only Band One firm ranked by Chambers Greater China Region/Asia Pacific for life sciences for 14 consecutive years, and its equity capital market has been ranked for more than a decade. Combining strengths in both fields, Sidley is highly recognized in life science IPOs and has completed a number of high-profile transactions in recent years.

Sidley’s China Life Sciences practice is an integrated part of the firm’s Global Life Sciences practice, which has more than 200 dedicated lawyers worldwide. Sidley advises clients along the full business lifecycle, from company formation, corporate governance (including incentive plans), and compliance operations for the startup phase; to product collaboration, licensing, commercialization, and regulatory filing matters in the business development phase; to initial public offerings, refinancings, and debt issuances in the capital-raising phase; to further significant transactions including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, asset restructurings, and privatizations, as well as dispute resolution.