3D Medicines Inc. has raised HK$408 million (US$52.5 million) in a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its shares opened at HK$29 apiece, jumped by more than 20% by the middle of the day, and closed at HK$31.45 on the first trading day of Dec. 15.

Aim Vaccine Co. Ltd. priced an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising HK$70.01 million (US$9 million) to fund work on its late-stage vaccine pipeline. Its shares increased only 3.09% on debut Oct. 6 but closed the week at HK$24.80, up 54% over its listing price of HK$16.16.

A strong third quarter has pushed biopharma financings ahead of several pre-pandemic years, as follow-on offerings and private placements picked up the pace. IPOs and venture capital rounds dipped below prior quarters, but the overall amount raised so far this year has placed 2022 as the fifth best financing year among the last 10, ahead of both 2019 and 2017.

Innocare Pharma Ltd. raised ¥2.92 billion (US$412 million) in a second listing on the Shanghai STAR Market. Its shares opened at ¥10.86 apiece, sliding 15.4% to close at ¥9.33 on the first trading day, Sept. 21. The company will use the proceeds to support cancer and autoimmune drug R&D, improve its drug development platform, build its sales network, and upgrade its information technology, said Chief Commercial Officer Jin Xiaodong.

Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has raised HK$471.1 million (US$60 million) in net proceeds through an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Sept. 1. It plans to use about three-quarters of the proceeds to advance clinical trials of two of its core anticancer candidates, YH-003 and YH-001. Company shares (HKEX:2315), initially offered at HK$25.22 each, closed at HK$26 on their first trading day.

While there are significantly fewer initial public offerings in 2022 than in 2021 and 2020, the caution expressed by biopharma companies and investors seems to be paying off, with this year showing the best average performance of the three years.

Inventisbio Co. Ltd. has raised ¥2.084 billion (US$296 million) in an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market priced at ¥18.12 per share, though its stock saw a disappointing debut, opening at ¥14 per share on the first trading day July 25 and closing at $15.29, for a drop of 15.6%. The stock closed Aug. 1 at ¥14.42.

Barely a month after signing a €1 billion-plus deal with Menarini Group for cholesterol-lowering drug obicetrapib, Newamsterdam Pharma BV has struck a $235 million SPAC merger deal that will see the biotech list on Nasdaq in late 2022. The deal will finance phase III development and potential regulatory filings of the drug once dropped by Amgen Inc. as big pharma turned away from the cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor drug class around five years ago.

European biotechnology firms engaged in the discovery and development of therapeutics raised up to $2.15 billion in disclosed equity transactions during the second quarter, a drop of 36% on the same period of 2021. The closure of the IPO window was a major factor in the decline, but the completion of two sizeable special purpose acquisition company deals made up some of the shortfall. Listed firms raised slightly more in Q2 2022 than they did in the same period last year. Venture capital, although the single biggest source of equity funding during the quarter, was also down on the same period last year.

A tightening of rules for biotech listings on the Shanghai STAR Market may have contributed to a visible cool-down in biotech IPOs, with fewer listings in Chinese stock markets in the first half of 2022.