(Reuters) - When U.S. biotech startup Sorrento Therapeutics named ex-Lehman Brothers executive Jiong Shao as its new finance chief about two months ago, it was widely seen as a move driven by his background in raising capital for Alibaba and Tencent.
Sorrento Therapeutics Inc is among a few early-stage U.S. biotechs wary of being overlooked in a crowded New York stock market and looking at listing itself in Hong Kong as Asia’s financial center rolls out the red carpet with a drastic overhaul of listing rules.
Striving to catch up with New York and Shanghai as an IPO hotspot, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced new policies late last year that actively court biotech companies, including those that do not have a drug on the market.
The new rules particularly target early-stage biotech companies with a minimum market value of about $200 million, including those that do not yet earn revenue.
Sorrento, which is developing CAR-T cancer drugs and medicines to treat pain, is among a group of companies that believe they will get a more enthusiastic reception in Asia - and with it a higher valuation and more money.
“We strongly believe we are under-appreciated in the U.S. and our shareholders deserve more,” Chief Financial Officer Shao told Reuters.
In February, the drugmaker announced plans to pursue a second listing in Hong Kong in a letter to shareholders.
Sorrento has since said it expects to complete the listing by the end of the year or in the first quarter of next year and believes investors in China are especially keen
