PrimeGenX looks to a Hong Kong IPO as a cure for its cash woes

The developer of anti-inflammatory treatments will need to persuade investors to look past its balance sheet problems and its narrow pipeline of products

Key Takeaways:

• The company is making a second attempt at a Hong Kong IPO after withdrawing a previous plan to list in Beijing
• With its cash flow under strain, the company has already sold key rights to treatments under development for skin and nasal inflammations

By Molly Wen

When market conditions and finances are tight, loss-making biopharma companies that have failed to secure a mainland listing often turn their attention to Hong Kong, where the path to an IPO is relatively easier.

A biotech developing treatments for inflammatory conditions has decided to take this well-travelled equity path in the hope of meeting a pressing need for cash.

On July 24, PrimeGenX Therapeutics Co. Ltd. applied for a second time to place its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, after pulling a plan for a Beijing listing and withdrawing from the National Equities Exchange and Quotations in 2025.

Founded in 2016, PrimeGenX focuses on developing ointments and sprays for autoimmune inflammations but has yet to launch a medicine on the market. Its main product, PG-011 (Pumecitinib), is a targeted treatment that blocks Janus Kinase (JAK) proteins to calm the immune reaction in skin and nasal conditions. The gel version, which is the company’s most advanced candidate, targets mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, while the nasal spray is being developed for moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis. China’s regulators granted a new drug application for the Pumecitinib gel to treat atopic dermatitis in adults and adolescents in February this year. The firm’s three other proprietary drug candidates remain in Phase One or earlier stages and are unlikely to generate revenue in the near term.

Atopic dermatitis is a recurring and chronic skin inflammation that requires long-term management. According to the listing document, more than 74 million people in China suffer from the condition, with mild-to-moderate cases accounting for more than 90% of the total. Citing third-party research, it said China’s market for atopic dermatitis drugs was worth 13.2 billion yuan ($1.95 billion) in 2025 and was projected to reach 48.4 billion yuan by 2033. JAK inhibitors suppress chemical signals along the STAT pathway that instruct cells to become aggravated or grow rapidly, thereby preventing inflammatory genes from being activated.

Three oral JAK1 inhibitors have been approved in China for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, but repeated use can pose serious safety risks, including infections and thrombosis. As a result, treatments applied directly to affected areas have emerged as a way to reduce those side effects. The first two domestic products seeking regulatory clearance were the Ivarmacitinib ointment from Hengrui Pharma (1276.HK; 600276.SH) and Tofacitinib etocomil from Minghui Pharmaceutical. Hengrui voluntarily withdrew its application in June 2026 to refine its submission, while Minghui’s product has not yet been approved.

PrimeGenX’s product is China’s first gel-based version to seek permission for commercial development. The water-rich base is described as less greasy than ointments, with a lower systemic drug exposure that allows for long-term use on sensitive areas such as the face and neck. These characteristics would give it a clear advantage for sustained treatment.

Already licensed out

With no commercial products yet, PrimeGenX derives its income from other sources including government grants. Money defined as other net income totaled 11.22 million yuan in 2024, 36.30 million yuan in 2025 and 6 million yuan in the first four months of 2026. R&D spending, meanwhile, was 146 million yuan, 128 million yuan and 54.49 million yuan over the same timeframe. The share devoted to Pumecitinib rose from 60.7% in 2024 to 70.6% in the first four months of 2026, leaving the company’s pipeline heavily concentrated in a single asset.

PrimeGenX remains deeply in the red, with losses of 178 million yuan in 2024, 141 million yuan in 2025 and 77.53 million yuan in the first four months of 2026. The inability to generate cash also weighed on its financial position. Net assets fell from 154 million yuan at the end of 2024 to 37.33 million yuan at the end of 2025, before turning into net liabilities of 7.19 million yuan at the end of April this year. At that point, cash and cash equivalents had dropped sharply to 128 million yuan from 191 million yuan at the end of 2025.

As it burned through cash, PrimeGenX opted to proactively license out key rights to its core product. In January Jumpcan Pharmaceutical Group secured exclusive commercialization rights for the nasal spray in Greater China with upfront and milestone payments of up to 100 million yuan. PrimeGenX has already received 40 million yuan in upfront cash. Then in June the company signed a deal giving Jiangsu Simcere Pharmaceutical exclusive promotion rights for all dermatological uses of Pumecitinib gel in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.

Beyond its funding challenges, PrimeGenX faces intensifying competition, heavy reliance on a narrow pipeline and tighter regulatory scrutiny of topical JAK formulations. Market regulators are also taking a closer look at the earnings potential for loss-making biotechs seeking to list under Hong Kong’s Chapter 18A rules. PrimeGenX will need to convince investors of the long-term value of its drug discoveries. Whether it can advance its Hong Kong listing and ease its cash flow pressure remains to be seen.

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