Xinhua News Agency, New York, April 10 – U.S. biotechnology companies and investors said on Wednesday that there is broad potential for cooperation between China and the United States in the field of biotechnology, which will benefit patients and investors in both countries.
“China has many very smart scientists who are highly entrepreneurial… We see China as a huge opportunity for our [biotech drug] products,” said RJ Tesi, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of San Diego-based immunology company INmune Bio, in an interview with Xinhua after ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq on Tuesday.
Tesi explained that INmune Bio recognized early on that China has investors and capital, and wanted to diversify its capital base beyond North America. As a result, it chose Univest Securities—a U.S. financial services provider founded primarily by Chinese Americans—as the lead underwriter to help it connect with Chinese investors and access the Chinese market.
He noted, “This strategy has paid off handsomely.”
Yi Guo, Chief Operating Officer of Univest Securities, said: “We saw acting as the lead underwriter for INmune Bio as a great investment opportunity, so we decided to help them list on Nasdaq and carry out their initial public offering.” He added that “INmune Bio’s immunotherapy is of very high quality.”
Mr. Guo said Univest Securities led INmune Bio on a roadshow to 13 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, arranging business meetings with Chinese capital investment firms and holding discussions with China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) about cooperation opportunities.
Chinese medical institutions and investors are actively seeking high-quality biotech projects in the United States. Chinese medical institutions will collaborate with U.S. biotech companies to obtain technology licensing, conduct clinical trials after receiving approval from the NMPA, and ultimately sell legally approved drugs. According to Mr. Guo, this type of cooperation has already become commonplace in the Chinese market.
“Approximately 30% of INmune Bio’s investors are from mainland China,” said Guangchang Guo. “Univest Securities’ dream is to bring high-quality American technology into China and benefit the Chinese people.”
INmune Bio’s stock closed up $1.84 on Tuesday, at $10.44 per share, marking a 21.40% increase.
“I think the fact that the stock price is starting to move reflects that people are beginning to understand all of our plans, what we are trying to do, and hopefully it shows they believe we have great potential,” Tesi said excitedly.
“If you can make patients better, investors will benefit. And these two groups—investors and patients—they are equally important,” he added.
INmune Bio listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market on February 4 at an offering price of $8 per share. The company plans to raise up to $20 million to support its research and drug development activities.
It is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on reprogramming the innate immune system to fight diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, malignancies, and Alzheimer’s disease.
