With cumulative losses nearing HK$2.4 billion and its core product still in the ‘valley of death’, Antai Biotech faces a make-or-break battle for its listing.

ZC Asia has learnt that on 17 June 2025, Kemei Biotech Co., Ltd. submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This decade-old company has accumulated losses nearing RMB 2.4 billion, with cash and cash equivalents dwindling to just RMB 386 million – projected to sustain operations for only the next 12 months.

Kemei Biotech has successfully completed multiple financing rounds, with investors including prominent institutions such as SDIC Innovation, CMBI, and Hony Capital.

However, behind its valuation of US$492 million, a sword of Damocles hangs over the company's capital structure: RMB 2.747 billion in convertible redeemable preferred shares.

Financial Strains

For a biotech firm focused on bispecific antibodies and T-cell engagers, Enzybiotech's financial health has long drawn scrutiny.

As an enterprise yet to commercialise any products, Kymab recorded no revenue in 2023 while incurring a net loss of RMB 595 million. By 2024, the company's performance abruptly ‘reversed’, generating RMB 459 million in revenue and a profit of RMB 47.687 million.

This seemingly dramatic financial turnaround did not stem from product sales but relied entirely on income from external licensing collaborations.

Since late 2023, Kymab has secured multiple global licensing agreements totalling over US$2.1 billion in transaction value, ranking second globally in the T-cell engager field.

The company has granted Spanish pharmaceutical firm Almirall a licence to develop bispecific antibodies using its FIT-Ig platform technology. It has also partnered with Candid for the development of EMB-06, with a potential transaction value of up to US$635 million.

It is precisely the upfront payments and other revenues from these licensing agreements that enabled Kymab to achieve a temporary shift from loss to profit in its 2024 financial statements.

However, the sustainability of this profit model is widely questioned. The company itself acknowledges that these historical financial results ‘may not be indicative of future performance’.

Research and Development Concerns

The progress of a product pipeline serves as a core metric for evaluating a biotechnology company's value. Enzymax currently maintains eight development pipelines, including three clinical-stage products and five preclinical candidates based on T-cell engagers.

Its most advanced core product, EMB-01—a tetravalent bispecific antibody simultaneously targeting EGFR and cMET—has only reached the Phase II clinical trial stage. This product is intended for treating gastrointestinal cancers such as colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and gastric cancer. In May 2025, its Phase II trial application for third-line metastatic colorectal cancer was approved by China's National Medical Products Administration.

From a R&D success rate perspective, Phase II clinical trials are often termed the ‘valley of death’ in new drug development due to their high failure rate. Notably, none of Onmy Bio's entire pipeline has yet passed this critical validation stage.

It is worth noting that the company's R&D expenditure has actually shown a downward trend, decreasing from RMB 185 million in 2023 to RMB 123 million in 2024, a reduction of over RMB 60 million. Onmy Bio's R&D team is also relatively small, comprising only 30 members as of the end of 2024.

Management Shuffle

Five days prior to Onmy Bio's Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing application, an unusual management reshuffle unfolded. On 12 June 2025, seven directors—Kamen Robert Irwin, Xu Yajun, Cui Xiangmin, Sungwon Song, Xing Cheng, Zhao Qun, and Chen Zhenrui—resigned simultaneously. Most represented the company's investors.

Xu Yajun and Kamen Robert Irwin were early investors in Anamabio, having served as directors since August 2015. Cui Xiangmin, founder and managing director of Decheng Capital, participated in the company's Series A and B financing rounds through his Decheng USD Fund.

Concurrently, Kymm Bio's remuneration arrangements for its management team demonstrate unusual generosity. According to the prospectus, Founder and CEO Wu Chenbing received remuneration of RMB 6.992 million in 2024. The combined remuneration for the five highest-paid employees reached RMB 19.15 million, accounting for 44.59% of the company's administrative expenses in 2024.

By comparison, Ribo Bio, another innovative drug developer also seeking a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, paid its five highest-paid employees a combined total of RMB 8.09 million in 2024, representing merely 8.75% of its administrative expenses.

Valuation Crisis

Behind Enzymax's listing application lies more pressing financing pressures. According to its capital structure, the company's net debt stood at RMB 2.344 billion as of end-2024, primarily due to substantial pre-IPO financing through convertible redeemable preferred shares amounting to RMB 2.747 billion.

These preferred share financing agreements included redemption rights clauses. Investors may demand the company redeem all or part of the convertible redeemable preferred shares at any time after 30 September 2025.

Although these redemption rights were suspended upon the company's initial filing of its listing application, the prospectus explicitly states that they shall immediately resume under any of the following circumstances: the company issues written notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange withdrawing its listing application; the company receives written rejection of its listing application from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; or the listing application lapses without renewal within three months of expiry.

This implies that should Enmai Biotech fail to achieve a successful listing, it would face substantial redemption pressure. This clause firmly ties the company to the listing process, leaving no room for retreat.

Regulatory Inquiries

In September 2025, Enmai Biotech received feedback from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) regarding its overseas listing filing, revealing regulatory scrutiny over its equity structure.

The feedback required the company to clarify the legal compliance of all equity changes in its principal domestic operating entity. It also demanded explanations regarding the establishment and equity changes of its largest shareholder, Sanaron Inc., along with the relationship between the ultimate beneficial owner and trust beneficiaries after upward penetration.

The CSRC further scrutinised Everlasting Wisdom Holdings Limited's 5.37% stake in the issuer, requesting disclosure of the natural person shareholders behind this entity after upward penetration, in accordance with relevant regulatory guidelines.

These inquiries underscore regulators' stringent requirements for clarity and compliance in the equity structures of overseas-listed enterprises. Everlasting Biotech must provide satisfactory responses to these queries to proceed with its listing process.

Everlasting Biotech's corporate governance structure currently revolves entirely around founder Wu Chenbing. Following the resignation of seven directors, the board now comprises only five members, with Wu Chenbing himself serving as the sole executive director. Concurrently, Sanaron, a company controlled by Wu Chenbing through his family trust, holds a 25.11% stake in Kemei Biotech, making it the largest single shareholder group.

As of 30 April 2025, Kemei Biotech held cash and cash equivalents amounting to RMB 327 million. Given the company's recent pace of R&D expenditure, this sum would suffice for approximately one and a half years of operations. The company's listing prospectus explicitly states that all net proceeds from the investment ‘have been utilised’. For a cash-burning biotech firm in its R&D phase, the funds currently on the books are indeed a mere drop in the ocean.

Disclaimer: The content herein is for reference only and does not constitute any form of investment advice. Should any information contained herein prove inaccurate, incomplete, or potentially misleading, please refer to the company's official announcements. Market risks exist; investment requires caution.