BrightGene Biopharma Soars 140.83% on Sci-Tech Innovation Board Debut

VCBeat learned that on November 8, 2019, BrightGene Bio-Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “BrightGene”) listed on the STAR Market, becoming the first biopharmaceutical company in the Yangtze River Delta region to complete an IPO on the board.

BrightGene’s current issuance totals 41 million shares, with an issue price of RMB 12.71 per share, raising a total of RMB 520 million. The funds will be primarily used for the construction of Phase I of its Taixing active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and formulation production base.

Information from the official website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange shows that BrightGene opened at RMB 27.77 per share today, reached an intraday high of RMB 33.30 and a low of RMB 27.13, and closed at RMB 30.61, representing an increase of RMB 17.90 over the issue price of RMB 12.71, or a gain of 140.83%. Based on the closing price and the total share capital of 410 million shares after the offering, BrightGene’s market capitalization at the close of its first day of listing was RMB 12.5501 billion.

BrightGene is an R&D-driven enterprise with a full-industry-chain product and technology platform for chemical pharmaceuticals, participating in international competition. It is committed to becoming a globally leading innovative high-end chemical pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Suzhou BioBAY, it has established a 6,000 m² facility in Suzhou Industrial Park.²Research Institute, 3,000 m²²Pilot Scale Base and 12,000 m²²GMP Pharmaceutical Factory. Additionally, a 2,000 m² facility has been built in Chongqing.²Fermentation R&D Center; Taixing has built a 30-mu upstream pharmaceutical production base.

Yuan Jiandong, founder of BrightGene, won first prize in the National Chemistry Olympiad during his second year of high school and was subsequently admitted to the Department of Chemistry at Peking University without taking the national entrance examination. He later earned a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the State University of New York. In 2001, he returned to China to launch his entrepreneurial venture as part of the country’s first wave of overseas-trained talent. Entecavir became Yuan’s breakthrough achievement upon his return. Within less than six months, he led his team to develop an innovative synthetic route and process with independent intellectual property rights, breaking the technological monopoly held by the originator. This patent received the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress awarded by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and the China Patent Excellence Award in 2017. It facilitated the market launch of Chia Tai Tianqing’s generic entecavir as the first approved generic version in China, rapidly turning it into a blockbuster product.

After years of accumulation, BrightGene has established drug technology R&D platforms, including a fermentation semi-synthesis platform, a multi-chiral drug platform, a targeted polymer conjugation platform, and a non-biological macromolecule platform. Its products cover areas such as anti-tumor, anti-infection, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, iron supplements, immunosuppression, and veterinary medicines. Leveraging its core technology platforms, BrightGene has completed or is currently conducting R&D on multiple drugs with high technical barriers.

BrightGene’s production and quality management system is cGMP-certified in Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. It launched the first generic versions of entecavir, caspofungin, anidulafungin, and other products in the European and American markets. The company has successfully developed high-end generics such as eribulin, trabectedin, and fondaparinux sodium, establishing a product portfolio with global competitive advantages in oncology, super antibiotics, and intravenous iron supplementation.

Key Financial Data of BrightGene for the Past Three Years

BrightGene has achieved rapid performance growth over the past three years. Revenue increased from RMB 200 million in 2016 to RMB 410 million in 2018, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43%. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company, excluding non-recurring gains and losses, rose from RMB 14.12 million in 2016 to RMB 71.92 million in 2018, with a CAGR of 226%. The net profit margin surged from 7% in 2016 to 18% in 2018, demonstrating robust growth momentum.

BrightGene’s clients include international pharmaceutical companies such as Teva (Israel), Mylan (US), and Sun Pharma (India), as well as domestic leaders like Hengrui Medicine, Chia Tai Tianqing, and Huadong Medicine. The export of technology and products to regulated global markets, including Europe and the United States, currently constitutes a significant revenue source for BrightGene and remains a strategic focus for its future development. The construction of production facilities compliant with both domestic and international cGMP standards serves as a reliable guarantee for the company’s future market strategy.

High R&D Investment Ratio Stands Out as a Key Highlight for BrightGeneAccording to the prospectus, BrightGene’s R&D expenditure consistently accounted for approximately 25% of its total revenue during the reporting period. In contrast to the typical 5–10% R&D investment ratio seen in most listed pharmaceutical companies, BrightGene’s substantial R&D spending underscores its core philosophy of being research-driven and signals stronger growth potential in the future.

BrightGene: Sales Performance of Major Products Over the Past Three Years

Sustained R&D investment has yielded multiple research outcomes for BrightGene. As of the end of the reporting period, the Company had filed over 300 invention patent applications and obtained a total of 89 patents domestically and internationally. It has overcome key synthetic technologies for several blockbuster drugs, including the preparation technologies and synthetic processes for intermediates or active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) such as entecavir, fondaparinux sodium, caspofungin, anidulafungin, and micafungin. Two Class 1.1 new drugs, BR61501 and BGC0222, have completed technology transfer or signed technology transfer agreements, with the Company retaining the right to receive sales royalties post-commercialization.

Among the main products, high-end generic drugs such as caspofungin, anidulafungin, micafungin, and pimecrolimus have experienced rapid growth in recent years. In particular, sales of caspofungin increased from RMB 11.75 million in 2016 to RMB 90.9 million in 2018. Based on sales figures for the first quarter of 2019, caspofungin is expected to maintain its strong growth momentum throughout 2019.

BrightGene’s Sustainable Profit Model

BrightGene has been engaged in the research, development, and production of pharmaceutical intermediates, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and formulated drug products characterized by high technical barriers. The company has established diversified revenue streams, including the sales of high-value-added pharmaceutical intermediates and APIs, technology transfer for drug products, and collaborative development with pharmaceutical partners possessing strong brand recognition or distribution channels—leveraging its own technological and product advantages to secure sales-based royalties. Furthermore, BrightGene has expanded further into the field of formulated drug products, thereby creating a sustainable profitability model that covers the entire industry chain from “starting materials → complex intermediates → specialty APIs → formulated drug products.”

In the field of generic drug development, BrightGene has achieved the replication of a series of drugs that are relatively scarce in the market and involve high technical barriers, leveraging its expertise in multi-chiral synthesis and fermentation-based semi-synthesis. These include oseltamivir, an anti-influenza drug with a multi-billion-dollar market potential; eribulin, regarded as the "Mount Everest" of chemical synthesis; trabectedin, an anticancer agent for which no generics have yet been launched domestically or internationally; and intravenous iron preparations, which face high domestic demand but currently exhibit low market penetration.

These products have been sold in dozens of countries worldwide, with some enabling customers to achieve the first generic launch in specific markets; additionally, certain products under development have generated revenue through technology licensing.

In the field of innovative drug R&D, the Company’s high-activity monomer BR61501, isolated using multi-chiral drug technology, has obtained approval for Phase I clinical trials as a Class 1 new drug from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Additionally, BGC0222, an anti-tumor drug developed based on the Company’s proprietary targeted polymer conjugation technology, has had its clinical trial application submitted to the NMPA. Furthermore, several other new drugs targeting viral infections and tumors are currently in preclinical research.

In line with global pharmaceutical industry trends, BrightGene will continue to deepen its presence in the high-end generic drug market, building itself into a platform-based leading chemical pharmaceutical enterprise. This strategy aims to enhance overall competitiveness and profitability, thereby generating stable cash flows to support long-term corporate development. Meanwhile, the company will actively expand into the innovative drug sector, accelerating the R&D and commercialization of novel therapies. It strives to achieve global regulatory approvals for innovative drugs that possess international competitiveness and address unmet clinical needs within the medium to long term, thereby elevating its global competitive standing in the industry.

In December 2018, Sequoia Capital China and HighLight Capital co-led a RMB 550 million financing round for BrightGene Bio-Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Wang Hui, Founder and CEO of HighLight Capital, stated, “We congratulate BrightGene on its listing on the STAR Market. BrightGene boasts a robust R&D platform and a leading portfolio of high-barrier formulation products, while actively expanding its pipeline of innovative drugs. We believe that BrightGene will leverage the advantages derived from its high technological barriers to develop more high-quality products. We are also committed to continuing our support for the long-term, steady growth of such outstanding enterprises.”