Leads Biolabs Lists on HKEX, Raising USD 189 Million Through Initial Public Offering

NANJING, China, July 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On 25 July, 2025 (China Time), Nanjing Leads Biolabs Co., Ltd. ("Leads Biolabs" or the "Company") listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEX) under the stock code "09887".

The clinical-stage biotech company priced its IPO at HKD 35 per share, offering 36.86 million shares (excluding green shoe option). The deal included a Hong Kong public tranche of 16.03 million shares (43% of the total) and an international placement of 20.84 million shares (57%). Morgan Stanley and CITIC Securities acted as joint sponsors of the transaction.

Gross proceeds totaled approximately USD 189 million (including green shoe option). According to Leads Biolabs, the proceeds will be allocated as follows:

• ~65% for ongoing and planned clinical trials and regulatory affairs;
• ~15% for advancing preclinical assets, expanding existing pipelines, and optimizing technology platforms
• ~10% for upgrading manufacturing capacity and commercialization preparedness post-approval;
• ~10% for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Dr. Xiaoqiang Kang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Leads Biolabs, commented:

"Our HKEX debut represents a major leap from laboratory innovation to global capital markets, accelerating our innovation-driven international expansion. For more than a decade, we've pursued one goal: becoming a global leader in immuno-oncology therapeutics. At this inflection point, we reaffirm our founding commitment to eradicating disease while maintaining the entrepreneurial vigor that defines us. Through strengthened global execution and accelerated translation of breakthrough therapies from bench to bedside, we will deliver paradigm-shifting treatments to patients across the globe."

Founded in 2012, Leads Biolabs is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies to address unmet medical needs in oncology, autoimmune, and other severe diseases both in China and globally. The Company has built a differentiated pipeline of 14 innovative drug candidates, including six clinical-stage drug candidates, of which four lead products are among the top-tier clinically advanced candidates globally.

Leads Biolabs operates an integrated business model encompassing in-house discovery, development and commercialization of innovative tumor immunotherapies. The Company has strategically developed assets in three areas: Immuno-oncology 2.0 (IO 2.0), T-cell engagers (TCEs), and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Its oncology pipeline includes 12 investigational products, including 3 monoclonal antibodies, 5 bispecific antibodies, 3 ADCs and 1 bispecific fusion protein. The Company is also progressing two promising candidates for autoimmune diseases—a bispecific fusion protein and a trispecific antibody. 

Leads Biolabs' R&D is powered by multiple proprietary technology platforms that feature integrated, AI-powered and diversified antibody engineering capabilities, including LeadsBody™ (a CD3 T-cell engager platform), X-body™ (a 4-1BB engager platform) and its linker-payload platform for ADC development. These platforms have demonstrated clinical proof-of-concept, particularly with bispecific antibody combinations.

The LeadsBody™ platform delivers strong technological capabilities for developing CD3-targeted bispecific antibodies. Its innovative molecular design enables precise affinity modulation between TCEs and both CD3 and tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). With spatially optimized steric hindrance architecture, the platform enables conditional T-cell activation exclusively within the tumor microenvironment (TME), significantly lowering the risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and systemic toxicity. This molecular engineering approach is designed to optimize the therapeutic index through customized spatial configurations that reduce treatment interruptions due to toxicity. By minimizing adverse systemic effects, the platform enables extended treatment durations and, ultimately, aims to improve patient quality of life (QoL).

Building on this platform, Leads Biolabs has established a position of leadership in the promising field of solid tumor immunotherapies. The company has developed six differentiated TCE therapeutic candidates, forming a portfolio spanning three major therapeutic areas: hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases.

Hematologic Malignancies:

• LBL-034: A GPRC5D/CD3 bispecific antibody for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM)
• LBL-043: A LILRB4/CD3 bispecific antibody targeting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and multiple myeloma (MM)

Solid Tumors:

• LBL-033: A MUC16/CD3 bispecific antibody targeting solid tumors overexpressing MUC16, with a focus on gynecologic cancers including ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial carcinoma
• LBL-054: A CDH17/CD3 T-cell engager under development for colorectal cancer (CRC), gastric cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs)
• LBL-058: A first-in-class TCE-ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) targeting DLL3, demonstrating encouraging efficacy in DLL3-positive small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and NENs

Autoimmune Diseases:

• LBL-051: A first-in- class CD19/BCMA/CD3 trispecific antibody designed to block autoantibody production by B cells and plasma cells while regulating B-cell hyperactivation, differentiation, and plasmacytic transformation. The candidate's unique mechanism of action enables broad-based B-cell modulation, potentially delivering superior clinical outcomes. The program is being advanced through a strategic collaboration with NewCo, a portfolio company of leading biotech investor Aditum Bio.

The company's X-body™ platform utilizes advanced antibody engineering to develop 2:2 bispecific antibody structures. Its lead candidate, LBL-024 (PD-L1/4-1BB), represents a key advance in 4-1BB agonist therapies, becoming the first agent in this class to enter global registrational trials. The platform's 2:2 configuration is designed to restrict 4-1BB activation to the tumor microenvironment (TME), addressing systemic toxicity issues, particularly hepatotoxicity, that have undermined earlier efforts in this category. This platform-driven approach enables precise control of immune activation within the TME, minimizing off-target adverse effects while reactivating exhausted T cells and driving clonal expansion. The mechanism has shown particular promise in tumors resistant to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, as well as in so-called immunologically "cold" tumors. The successful execution of this strategy with LBL-024 underscores its potential as a best-in-class immunotherapy candidate.

At the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, Leads Biolabs presented data from a multicenter Phase Ib/II trial evaluating LBL-024 in combination with etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy in first-line advanced extra-pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (EP-NEC). The study reported a 75.0% objective response rate (ORR) and a 92.3% disease control rate (DCR) among the efficacy-evaluable population (n=52). In the 15 mg/kg cohort, ORR reached 83.3%, with a DCR of 100%. Overall, 57.7% of patients (30/52) achieved tumor reduction exceeding 50%. These results substantially outperformed historical benchmarks for chemotherapy alone, which typically show ORR in the 30–55% range. While progression-free survival (PFS) data were not yet mature at the April 15, 2025 cutoff (median follow-up: 8.2 months), all dose cohorts showed favorable trends compared with historical controls.

EP-NEC is a rare and aggressive cancer with poor advanced-stage outcomes and no approved second-line or later therapies. Recognizing this unmet medical need, China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) granted approval on April 30, 2024 for a pivotal single-arm registrational trial of LBL-024 in EP-NEC, potentially establishing it as the first approved therapy for this indication.

As the world's first 4-1BB-targeted molecule to have reached registrational stage, LBL-024 could establish 4-1BB as the fourth approved immuno-oncology target following PD-1/L1, CTLA-4 and LAG-3. The candidate has earned Breakthrough Therapy Designation from China's NMPA for relapsed/refractory EP-NEC and Orphan Drug Designation from U.S. FDA for neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs).

LBL-024 has also secured regulatory approvals to investigate indications including small cell lung cancer (SCLC), biliary tract cancer (BTC), ovarian cancer (OC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and gastric cancer (GC). Early clinical data have shown promising antitumor activity in SCLC, BTC and OC, supporting its potential as a broad-spectrum oncology therapeutic.

Leads Biolabs has enhanced end-to-end capabilities across the entire drug development lifecycle—from early-stage target screening and discovery to preclinical research, clinical development, CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls), and pilot manufacturing. Demonstrating exceptional efficiency, the Company has achieved IND submission within just three years of target selection, significantly outpacing the industry average of 5 to 6 years (based on Frost & Sullivan data). In addition to its proprietary R&D initiatives, Leads Biolabs is exploring strategic collaborations to accelerate clinical development and commercialization of promising drug candidates. The Company is well-positioned to capitalize on market opportunities through out-licensing agreements, co-marketing partnerships, and other strategic alliances. As its clinical-stage assets progress toward commercialization, Leads Biolabs may expand its infrastructure to include commercial-scale manufacturing facilities while bolstering commercialization capabilities—both through collaborative ventures and the development of an in-house sales force.

source: Leads Biolabs