Ascentage Pharma shares slide ahead of ADS debut on Nasdaq

Investing.com– Ascentage Pharma Group International (HK:6855) shares plunged on Friday in Hong Kong trading, as investors turned cautious ahead of the biotech firm’s American Depositary Shares (ADS) debut on the Nasdaq later in the day.

The sell-off underscores investor caution as the company prepares for its U.S. listing, which will allow global investors to trade its shares more easily.

China-based Ascentage Pharma, which specializes in cancer therapies, had on Tuesday announced the pricing of its ADS offering at $20.34 per share, aiming to raise around $149 million, but lowered the pricing to $17.25 each on Friday to raise $126 million.

Hong Kong-listed shares of the company fell 12.5% to HK$36.55 as of 05:43 GMT.

Ascentage is backed by Japan’s biggest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TYO:4502)

The firm plans to use the proceeds from the ADS sale to advance clinical trials, research, and development of its targeted therapies and apoptosis-based drug candidates. However, concerns about market volatility and the potential dilution of shares have weighed on investor sentiment, contributing to the sharp decline.

This offering marks the latest move in a trend of dual listings by Chinese biotech firms seeking to broaden their investor base and raise capital from U.S. markets.