Yimiao Biosciences Files for STAR Market IPO with RMB 4 Billion Valuation Target

Recently, the STAR Market IPO application of Imunopharm Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Imunopharm”) has been officially accepted.

This cell therapy company, established in 2015, has a product pipeline spanning multiple technological platforms, including autologous CAR-T, in vivo CAR-T, and allogeneic CAR-T, covering the fields of hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases.

For this IPO on the STAR Market, Imunopharm has opted for Listing Standard V, with an estimated market capitalization of no less than RMB 4 billion. The company plans to issue no more than 10 million shares, accounting for no less than 25% of the total share capital post-issuance, and may utilize the over-allotment option. The proposed fundraising amount is RMB 2.5 billion, of which RMB 1.647 billion will be allocated to the research and development of cell therapy drugs, RMB 228 million to the Phase I production project for cell therapy drugs by Shandong Jinsheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and RMB 625 million to supplement working capital.

As a biotech company on the eve of commercialization, Imunopharm’s core product, IM19, is still under NDA review.

Its prospectus and other disclosed materials revealed a series of data. From 2023 to 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the “Reporting Period”), Imunopharm’s revenue scale was relatively small, and it remained in a continuous state of loss. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company for the three years was RMB -245.8863 million, RMB -187.8419 million, and RMB -188.7593 million, respectively. Supported by the CDMO business of its subsidiary, Xiji Biology, the gross profit of its core business further declined, with losses expanding from RMB -1.0233 million to RMB -43.4482 million over the three-year period.

With its in vivo pipeline still too distant to address immediate needs, what challenges does Imunopharm currently face? Following the receipt of fundraising proceeds, how will the company fortify its competitive moat and maximize its commercialization potential? The market awaits Imunopharm’s answer.

Imunopharm meets and is applicable to the fifth criterion among the listing standards stipulated in Article 2.1.2 of the Rules Governing the Listing of Stocks on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange: “The expected market capitalization shall be no less than RMB 4 billion; main businesses or products shall be subject to approval by relevant national authorities, with substantial market potential and phased achievements already attained. For pharmaceutical companies, at least one core product must have been approved to commence Phase II clinical trials; other enterprises aligned with the positioning of the STAR Market shall demonstrate distinct technological advantages and meet corresponding requirements.”

From a product perspective, IM19, an autologous CAR-T therapy for hematologic malignancies, submitted its New Drug Application (NDA) in November 2024. The core indication for this product is relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r NHL), with a primary focus on relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL).

This also means that innovative drugs cannot generate revenue, and some of the challenges faced by Imunopharm are precisely those encountered by China’s first wave of cell therapy companies.

Core products are still on the path to commercialization, or have generated limited revenue post-launch.

To assess commercialization potential, one can first examine the performance of existing marketed products in China.

Currently, four marketed products in China directly compete in this core indication: Fosun Kite’s axicabtagene ciloleucel injection (Yikaida), JW Therapeutics’ relmacabtagene autoleucel injection (Beinuoda), Heyuan Biologics’ naquicabtagene autoleucel injection (Yuanruida), and Hengrui Dasheng’s renicabtagene autoleucel injection (Hengkailai).

Notably, data indicates that Yikaida, China’s first CAR-T product, has cumulatively treated over 1,500 patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma. With a listed unit price of approximately RMB 1.2 million per infusion, the cumulative total sales of this product since its market launch have exceeded RMB 1 billion. Initially, Yikaida was approved only for third-line and later-line treatment of large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). In 2023, Yikaida successfully gained approval in China for an additional second-line indication, specifically for adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma who are refractory to first-line immunochemotherapy or who relapse within 12 months after first-line immunochemotherapy.

Imunopharm also acknowledged in its prospectus that four CAR-T products targeting late-line relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r NHL) indications have already been approved for marketing in China. “If the company’s core product, IM19, fails to rapidly establish differentiated advantages across dimensions such as upfront pricing, reimbursement coverage, hospital access, physician education, and patient assistance programs, it will adversely impact the company’s operational performance and development prospects.”

Notably, Imunopharm’s IM19 is also being explored for advancement into second-line therapy, with its clinical trial application for second-line treatment of relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r NHL) approved in January 2026.

The commercial performance of other million-dollar, ex vivo autologous CAR-T therapies post-launch may also offer valuable reference. For instance, Carsgen Therapeutics’ BCMA-targeted CAR-T product, zevorcabtagene autoleucel injection (SaiKaize), was approved for marketing in China in March 2024 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM). According to Carsgen’s annual report, this BCMA-targeted therapy generated RMB 125 million in revenue in 2025, with a total of 218 valid orders received from its partner, Huadong Medicine, throughout the year.

Huadong Medicine is also a partner of Imunopharm, which has secured the exclusive commercialization rights for IM19 in all B-cell hematologic malignancy indications in mainland China.

Huadong Medicine already has experience in the marketing and sales of CAR-T products, and collaborates with Legend Biotech and Imunopharm on CAR-T products for different indications. Notably, in December 2025, Imunopharm announced the appointment of Fu Zhiguang as Vice President of Commercialization, who will be fully responsible for the formulation and execution of the company’s commercialization strategy.

VCBeat has learned that Imunopharm is currently primarily collaborating with Huadong Medicine to handle the commercialization of its candidate products. Meanwhile, in its prospectus, Imunopharm stated that it will continue to deepen its partnership with Huadong Medicine, leveraging Huadong Medicine’s sales channel advantages to promote its core product, IM19, and accelerate the commercialization process of IM19. The company will also actively advance the establishment of its own sales team.

For now, Imunopharm continues to rely on its CDMO business for financial support.The prospectus indicates that during the reporting period, the company’s operating revenue was primarily derived from the CDMO business conducted by its subsidiary, Xiji Biology, with services covering cell therapy products such as CAR-T, TCR-T, and CAR-NK.

However, this business is still in its early stages, with significant allocation of fixed costs. Coupled with the downturn in CDMO market sentiment since the second half of 2024, the gross profit from core operations widened from a loss of RMB 1.0233 million in 2023 to a loss of RMB 43.4482 million in 2025.

During the production ramp-up phase, lower gross margins are a common phenomenon among many CDMOs. For instance, in the first half of 2025, a leading CDMO reported a gross margin of approximately 47.56% for its small-molecule CDMO business, while the gross margin for its emerging businesses was only 29.53%.

In other words,Scale EffectStillUnfulfilled.Even,First-generation cell therapy products may still be in a stage where production demand is low due to limited commercialization scale.To this end, it is not uncommon for CDMOs to shut down cell factories; for example, global CDMO Catalent announced in early 2026 the closure of its cell therapy facility in Belgium.

At the end of 2024 and in 2025, Chinese CDMO companies and Yuan Biologics repeatedly acknowledged in investor communications that,Due toThe financing situation for downstream clients in China's cell and gene therapy industry continues to be weak, leading to passive demand insufficiency and heightened price sensitivity, which has kept order prices for domestic CDMO services at a low level.

To keep the newly built factories operating at capacity, part of the demand may rely on ramping up the production volume of marketed products, while the rest will come from expanding the scale of projects under development.

According to the “Gene, Cell, & RNA Therapy Landscape Report: Q4 2025” released by ASGCT/Citeline, the total number of global gene, cell, and RNA therapy projects in development decreased to 2,041 by the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a decline of approximately 4% compared to the first quarter of 2025. This contraction was primarily driven by preclinical projects. Meanwhile, financing for startups showed signs of recovery, with 14 funding rounds completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, totaling $557.1 million, marking a 141% quarter-on-quarter increase in total funding. Entering the first quarter of 2026, industry transaction activity remained at a high level. ASGCT/Citeline “Gene, Cell, & RNA Therapy Landscape Report: Q1 2026”thenThe data shows that the number of industry transactions in the current quarter rose to 103, but the total amount of early-stage financing fell back to $388.4 million.

From a comparative perspective, the financing conditions of downstream customers have shown some recovery, but they may still be in a transitional period from winter to spring. Therefore, it is an objective reality that factories have been built, but orders are insufficient to fill them during certain stages.

In terms of pipeline layout, Imunopharm has submitted one New Drug Application (NDA), with one pipeline undergoing Phase II clinical trials and six pipelines in Phase I clinical trials. The company has received approval to conduct 11 clinical trials in China and one in the United States.

Its portfolio encompasses multiple technological platforms, including autologous CAR-T, in vivo CAR-T, and allogeneic CAR-T therapies. Its pipeline products cover indications in malignant hematologic diseases, solid tumors, and autoimmune disorders.

Notably, IM96 has received approval for clinical trials targeting colorectal cancer indications in both China and the United States. ZM001 is an autologous CAR-T candidate drug for refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials.

Meanwhile, Imunopharm continues to increase its investment in autologous CAR-T therapy, while its in vivo CAR-T candidate, IV01, is undergoing preclinical studies.

Imunopharm plans to raise RMB 2.5 billion, of which RMB 1.647 billion will be allocated to the R&D of cell therapy drugs, RMB 228 million to the Phase I production project for cell therapy drugs by Shandong Jinsei Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and RMB 625 million to supplement working capital.

A relevant person in charge at Biotech told VCBeat,Universal CAR-TPossibly in the short termNo products are visible that can be guaranteed to reach the market, and the competitive landscape for autologous CAR-T therapy is already established with a limited window of opportunity. If in vivo CAR-T therapies can be successfully developed into drugs, they will fundamentally reshape the business model of cell therapy.。

Although, on the whole, in vivo CAR-T therapy remains in the early stages of clinical exploration globally, some products have already entered the phase where data speaks for itself.

At the 2026 ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Annual Meeting and the EHA (European Hematology Association) Congress, Legend Biotech and Kelonia Therapeutics both reported 100% objective response rate (ORR) data.

Kelonia Announces Updated Phase I Clinical Data for KLN-1010, an In Vivo BCMA CAR-T Therapy Based on Lentiviral Vector Technology, in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM)Among evaluable patients, the overall response rate (ORR) reached 100%, with all patients achieving minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity in the bone marrow at one month post-treatment. This therapy eliminates the need for complex ex vivo manufacturing and lymphodepleting chemotherapy, demonstrates a favorable safety profile, and supports outpatient administration.

At the EHA Congress in June 2026, Legend Biotech presented for the first time, as a Late-Breaking oral presentation, preliminary Phase I clinical data on its CD19/CD20 dual-target in vivo CAR-T therapy (LB2501) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R B-NHL). In the higher dose cohort (DL2), all six patients achieved a 100% objective response rate (ORR) and an 83.3% complete response (CR) rate, with no dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) or serious adverse events observed.

The LNP-mRNA approach has also yielded positive data. WeGene Biologics’ WGb-0301 achieved a 100% CAR-positive rate in four patients with B-cell lymphoma and can be administered repeatedly up to 10 times; Weitao Biologics’ GT801 achieved a 100% overall response rate (ORR) in four patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), with three patients achieving complete remission, and CAR-T cells were detectable in peripheral blood as early as 4 hours post-administration.

VCBeat learned in an interview that the first batch of domestic autologousCAR-TListed companies exhibit diverse corporate styles, while industry insiders believe that competition in the in vivo CAR-T sector primarily tests capabilities ranging from vector design to clinical development, requiring bothPossesses end-to-end development capabilities from 0 to 1, with genuine experience in virology.Non-viralEarly-stage R&D capabilities in vector design.

In Vivo CAR-T may not represent a zero-to-one disruption akin to autologous CAR-T in its early days; rather, it is essentially the convergence of established CAR-T technology and increasingly mature in vivo delivery systems.

“The success rate for a product progressing from Phase I clinical trials to commercialization is typically only in the single-digit percentages; it is expected that truly viable drugs may not reach the market until around 2028–2029,” an industry practitioner pointed out to VCBeat.

Imunopharm is also continuously increasing its investments,The prospectus shows that,The ratio of R&D expenses to revenue reached as high as 3,782.66%, 627.93%, and 530.06% respectively in each period during the reporting period.。

However, patent issues represent the most significant potential risk at present; regardless of which delivery technology route a company chooses, it faces the risk of being trapped in a patent encirclement.

Multiple practitioners told VCBeatPoint out whyMNCThey are willing to make substantial investments in asset acquisitions at the very early stages of a project, or even during the preclinical phase.？Intentone of which,It is by acquiring core technologies with original innovation and differentiation to establish patent walls and IP moats at a very early stage.

In this regard, Imunopharm acknowledged that its core products, including IM19, IM96, and ZM001, have not yet been fully commercialized. There remains uncertainty as to whether the patent claims are sufficiently robust to provide effective protection against future competitors. If core patents are invalidated or circumvented through design-around strategies, the long-term competitive barriers of these products could be weakened.