Looking back at the past five years, Chinese biopharmaceutical company "A+H" has undergone a qualitative change from sporadic attempts to mass explosions when going public. The implementation of Rule 18A on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2018 broke down the barriers for unprofitable biotech companies to go public, opening the door for Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies to access global capital.

2025 will become a watershed year for the industry. According to Wind data, a total of 26 biopharmaceutical companies (including 8 medical equipment and service companies) listed on the Hong Kong stock market this year, raising a total of HKD 29.265 billion, an increase of 17 companies from 2024. 16 unprofitable biotechnology companies went public under Chapter 18A rules, raising a total of approximately HKD 13.771 billion.

Entering 2026, the trend continues to heat up, with seven biopharmaceutical companies submitting listing applications to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the first half of January alone, continuing the industry's growth momentum.

Behind this trend is the leadership and exploration of a group of leading enterprises. As a leading player in the domestic pharmaceutical industry, Hengrui Pharmaceutical was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in May 2025 with an issue price of HKD 44.05. On its first day of trading, it closed up about 25% and raised over HKD 9.8 billion, setting a record for the largest IPO in the pharmaceutical sector of Hong Kong stocks in nearly five years.

After the dual platform listing, Hengrui Pharmaceutical accelerated its globalization strategy, with external licensing revenue reaching 3.392 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 25.62%. The annual operating revenue was 31.629 billion yuan, with a net profit attributable to the parent company of 7.711 billion yuan, and both revenue and net profit reached a historical high.

Rongchang Biology is a successful example among early explorers of "A+H". This innovative pharmaceutical company focused on the ADC field achieved a revenue of 3.251 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 89.36%, and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 710 million yuan, successfully turning losses into profits. It is one of the earlier companies in the 18A industry to achieve profitability.

This "A+H" listing trend presents a distinct track concentration feature.

Among the biopharmaceutical companies that have gone public in Hong Kong, nearly 70% are innovative pharmaceutical companies, with technology routes focused on cutting-edge fields such as ADC, bispecific antibodies, and cell therapy. CXO、 Upstream and downstream enterprises in the medical device industry chain are also accelerating their layout. WuXi AppTec (which achieved an A+H listing in 2018) will raise approximately HKD 7.647 billion through a Hong Kong stock placement in 2025; Jingfeng Medical (surgical robot) was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January 2026 and rose nearly 40% on its first day of trading.

The recovery of primary market financing has provided financial support and valuation anchoring for more biopharmaceutical companies to pursue IPOs in Hong Kong stocks.

According to the MedAlpha database of the pharmaceutical Rubik's Cube, by 2025, the total financing of innovative drugs in China will reach 14.684 billion US dollars, with a total of 505 financing transactions, which is close to the level of 2019 in terms of total financing.

Among them, there were a total of 445 financing events in the primary market throughout the year, with a total financing amount of 5.219 billion US dollars. Small nucleic acid, cell therapy, nuclear medicine, AI pharmaceuticals and other fields continue to receive investment, and institutions such as Qiming Venture Capital, Yuansheng Venture Capital, Sequoia China, and Eli Lilly Asia Fund have all made investments.

After experiencing industry adjustments in 2022-2023, the biopharmaceutical capital market will see a significant recovery in 2025.

Public data shows that the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index rose 64.5% for the year, setting the best annual performance since its launch, and the Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Medicines Index also rose 64%; The A-share pharmaceutical and biotech sector saw a year-on-year increase of 25.64%. The repair of sector valuation and the profitability effect have jointly attracted more companies to accelerate their "A+H" layout.

The return of international capital is particularly evident. International investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will restart the IPO business of biopharmaceutical companies in 2025, actively participating in Hong Kong stock IPO projects such as Hengrui Pharmaceutical, Yingen Biotechnology, and Weili Zhibo.

Since the implementation of the 18A rule in 2018, more than 80 biotechnology companies (including B) have been listed through the 18A channel of the Hong Kong stock market, making Hong Kong the largest biotechnology financing platform in Asia and the second largest in the world.

From the perspective of valuation logic, the current Hong Kong and A-share markets reflect more of the "growth premium" and "innovation premium", forming a sharp contrast with the "giant stability" of the US stock market.

According to statistics, in February 2026, the average PE (excluding extreme values) of the top 20 biopharmaceutical companies in the Hong Kong stock market was as high as 57.62 times, while in the A-share market it was 45.03 times, and in the US stock market it was 32.66 times. This valuation difference reflects the market's expectation of high growth for Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies in the future, especially in cutting-edge fields such as ADC and dual antibody, where companies with core technological barriers are more likely to be sought after by global capital.

The continuous increase in policy dividends has also laid a solid foundation for the "A+H" listing trend.

Since 2024, regulatory authorities have repeatedly issued signals supporting mainland leading enterprises to go public in Hong Kong. In April 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released five measures for capital market cooperation with Hong Kong, which explicitly stated "supporting leading enterprises in mainland industries to list in Hong Kong". The 2026 Government Work Report positions biomedicine as an "emerging pillar industry" and explicitly promotes it as an important engine for new quality productivity.

The positioning of the industry in the national strategy has significantly improved, accompanied by policy support throughout the entire chain.

In terms of review and approval, the National Medical Products Administration will add a 30 day fast track on the basis of 60 day implied license from September 2025. Innovative drug clinical trial applications that meet the conditions can be accelerated for review. At the same time, the "early intervention, one enterprise, one policy" mechanism will be implemented, and resources will continue to be tilted towards urgently needed innovative drugs in clinical practice.

The mechanism of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is also being optimized. In March 2026, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange published a consultation document, which included lowering the market value threshold for companies with different rights listed on the same stock. The standard market value threshold for Class A was reduced from HKD 40 billion to HKD 20 billion, the standard market value threshold for Class B was reduced from HKD 10 billion to HKD 6 billion, and the income threshold was lowered from HKD 1 billion to HKD 600 million. At the same time, the scope of confidential submission of listing applications was expanded to all new applicants. The consultation period is until May 8th and has not yet been implemented.

三、Rushing towards the new wave

Despite the increase in the number of listings of biopharmaceutical companies' A+H ', the Hong Kong stock market's 18A sector still faces some practical problems. The intensification of liquidity differentiation has become a core dilemma for some 18A enterprises.

Taking Xinda Biotechnology as an example, on April 2, 2026, its daily transaction volume reached HKD 1.337 billion; The daily transaction volume of leading companies such as BeiGene and Kangfang Biotechnology has also remained at the level of HKD 1 billion for many years. In stark contrast, a large number of tail companies have had dismal transaction volumes - as of early April 2026, the multi day transaction volume of 18A Company's Zhongyou Zhiyou Biotechnology was zero.

The Hong Kong Stock Connect is one of the important ways to improve liquidity. However, currently, the calculation of the market value of the Hong Kong Stock Connect has been adjusted from "average market value at the end of each month in the past 12 months" to "average market value on each non suspended trading day in the past 12 months", and the assessment is becoming stricter. The threshold for inclusion in the Hang Seng Composite Index has dynamically increased to approximately HKD 9 billion, which is difficult for most small cap companies with a market value of 18A to reach.

It should be pointed out that some enterprises are trapped in liquidity difficulties, mainly due to the lack of differentiated competitive advantages, severe product homogenization, and insufficient imagination space. The market's enthusiasm for the "story" of R&D pipelines has faded, and the demand for actual implementation capabilities is increasing.

The pressure of sustained losses has also become an important challenge for "A+H" listed companies. The characteristics of the biopharmaceutical industry, such as long research and development cycles and high investment, determine that most companies find it difficult to make profits in the early stages of listing.

According to statistics, about 80% of companies in the 18A sector of the Hong Kong stock market are in a loss making state. The continuous consumption of funds has put forward higher requirements for the financing ability and R&D efficiency of enterprises, and has also to some extent undermined the confidence of some investors.

Despite the numerous challenges, the overall trend of Chinese biopharmaceutical companies' "A+H" going public is still positive, and the industry is accelerating its transformation towards "value driven". Investors are also paying more attention to the long-term value of the companies.

In December 2025, the average first day increase of the 18A sector still reached 69.4%. But the differentiation of new stocks is obvious, with some companies breaking down on the first day of listing and others receiving oversubscription. Investors are starting to screen targets with more refined criteria, examining the core pipelines and long-term value of the enterprise.

Maiwei Biology is one of the cases of this logical transformation. In 2025, Maiwei Biotechnology achieved a revenue of 663 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 231.62%. However, the net profit attributable to the parent company was a loss of 969 million yuan, and the net cash flow generated from operating activities was -290 million yuan. The proportion of R&D investment to revenue remained as high as 147.46%.

From the perspective of traditional financial indicators, this is a report card with fast revenue growth but still losses and cash flow that has not yet turned positive. However, the market is willing to foot the bill for this' paper loss', and Maiwei Biotechnology has also received intention to subscribe from multiple international long-term funds due to the progress of its product pipeline.

The core product of Maiwei Biotechnology, 9MW2821, is an ADC drug targeting Nectin-4, which is the world's first similar product to enter the critical phase III clinical trial stage for cervical cancer. Its treatment for urothelial carcinoma (monotherapy and combination with PD-1) has been recognized as a breakthrough therapy and is currently in stage III. In 2025, Maiwei Biotechnology will invest 977 million yuan in research and development, a year-on-year increase of 24.79%, and multiple under development varieties are in the critical stage of clinical registration.

This biotech company, which is about to ring the bell of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is a slice of China's innovative drugs rushing towards the "A+H" wave. In this wave, Chinese innovative drugs are integrating into the global industrial landscape with a more open attitude.