Key Takeaways:
The company has a pipeline of 13 candidate drugs targeting cancer and autoimmune conditions, 10 of which are undergoing clinical trials
Earlier this year it sold Chinese licensing rights for one of its discoveries to Qilu Pharmaceutical
A biotech founded by a former executive of Hengrui Pharma (600276.SH; 1276.HK) will be looking to bask in a halo effect as it files for a stock market listing.
Hengrui shares were warmly received on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier this year, and now Ming Yu Pharmaceutical Ltd. is bidding for a place in the equity arena alongside the drugs giant, with Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and CITIC Securities acting as joint IPO sponsors.
Ming Yu was set up in 2018 by Cao Guoqing, a biochemist with an international profile in cutting-edge drug research. Cao gained a U.S. doctorate and worked in a senior role for Eli Lilly before joining Hengrui, where he supervised work on antibody-based therapies and small molecule drugs as vice president of biologics research.
His latest venture focuses on oncology and autoimmune diseases, with 10 out of the 13 experimental drugs in its pipeline having entered clinical development. Targeted cancer therapies such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies form the core of Ming Yu's portfolio, while its autoimmune programs are also approaching the commercial stage.
One of the company's flagship assets is MHB036C, an ADC targeting the TROP-2 protein to tackle solid tumors. Studies are underway to test the drug in combination with another suppressive therapy, a ...
