BRIEF: InSilico jumps in Hong Kong trading debut

Shares of AI-driven drug discovery platform InSilico Medicine (3696.HK) opened up 45% at HK$35 in their Hong Kong trading debut on Tuesday, before paring the gains to close up 34.1% at HK$32.26 by the midday break.

The company sold 94.7 million shares for HK$24.05 each, raising net proceeds of about HK$2 billion ($260 million). The Hong Kong offering for local investors was oversubscribed by more than 1,400 times, while the international placement was 25 times oversubscribed.

Sixteen cornerstone investors, including Eli Lilly, Tencent, Temasek, Infini Global Master Fund and Schroders, purchased a total of 37.2 million shares, accounting for 39% of the total offering.

Founded in 2014, InSilico is a global leader in AI-powered drug discovery and development. The company operates Pharma.AI, a self-developed generative artificial intelligence platform that covers the entire drug R&D process, from novel target identification and small-molecule generation to the prediction of clinical outcomes.

The company has lost money over each of the past three years, although its losses have narrowed markedly, from $211 million in 2023 to $18.9 million in the first half of this year.

The company said it will use money from the IPO to fund further clinical development of key pipeline drug candidates at critical clinical stages; to develop new generative AI models and related validation studies; to support early-stage drug discovery and development; and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

By Lee Shih Ta

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