After shivering through more than a year of “capital winter,” Chinese drug makers are finally feeling the thaw of spring, encouraging unprofitable companies to return their eyes to Hong Kong listings. Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical (002422.SZ) became the latest to join the trend last week, as its Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. subsidiary filed to list in Hong Kong, with Goldman Sachs and Citic Securities as sponsors.

Founded in 2016, Kelun-Biotech develops cancer drugs such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). It has a pipeline of 33 drugs in development, including 13 in the clinical stages. In 2021 it filed with the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to sell its KL-A167 injectable PD-L1 monoclonal antibody in China, but that application has yet to be approved.

According to the prospectus, Kelun-Biotech is one of China’s first biopharmaceutical companies – and one of only a few worldwide – with a fully integrated ADC development platform.