Hansi Aitai-B Plunges 46% on Hong Kong Debut: A Warning Sign for Valuation Correction in Innovative Drugs

On December 23, 2025, Hansi Aitai-B (03378.HK) officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It broke below its IPO price at opening, and the stock price trended downward throughout the day, finally closing at HK$17.2, a 46.25% drop from the IPO price of HK$32, with a market capitalization of only about HK$2.3 billion [1]. This near halving performance on the first day of listing contrasts sharply with other new stocks in the Hong Kong market during the same period—Nobikan surged 363.75% on its debut, and Easy Health also rose 158.82% [2]. Hansi Aitai’s IPO break is not an isolated incident but a microcosm of the valuation correction in Hong Kong’s 18A innovative drug sector.

Hansi Aitai’s valuation experience shows typical characteristics of capital-driven maturation. According to the prospectus, when the company completed its Series B financing in May 2023, its post-investment valuation was only RMB 136 million [1]. At that time, its core pipeline HX009 was in the clinical data accumulation phase, and this valuation was in line with the fundamentals of a startup biotech company. However, just one year later, in June 2024, after completing its Series B+ financing, the company’s valuation soared to RMB 1.615 billion, an increase of more than 10 times, without significant business leaps or major clinical breakthroughs announced [1]. Notably, the Series B+ financing amount was only RMB 21.3 million, invested by an institution under GenScript. This ‘small financing, large valuation increase’ model laid the groundwork for the subsequent IPO break.

From the timeline of capital operations, Hansi Aitai’s IPO pace was clearly driven by a betting agreement. The prospectus explicitly states that if the company fails to complete its IPO by December 31, 2025, the redemption clause will automatically resume, and the relevant special rights include the book value of preferred stock plus 8% annual cumulative interest [1]. This pressure prompted the company to submit its third application the day after its second application expired on December 2, 2025, and quickly pass the hearing. This ‘rushing to capitalize while unwell’ approach ultimately faced a vote with feet in the secondary market.

Hansi Aitai’s IPO break is a concentrated reflection of the ecological restructuring of Hong Kong’s 18A sector. From December 22 to 23, 2025, three companies—Huayi Biotech-B, BenQ Hospital, and Hansi Aitai-B—broke below their IPO prices consecutively upon listing. Among them, BenQ Hospital plummeted nearly 50% on its debut, becoming the ‘IPO Break King’ of Hong Kong stocks this year [3]. At the same time, unprofitable Biotech companies still showed a differentiated pattern on their first day of listing: InnoRx-B surged 206.48%, Zhonghui Biotech-B rose 157.98%, and Baoji Pharmaceutical-B jumped 138.82% [3]. This ‘two worlds of ice and fire’ pattern indicates that the market is shifting its investment logic from ‘storytelling about pipelines’ to ‘proving commercial viability’.

Regulators have also sent cautious signals. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Securities and Futures Commission have clearly focused on the quality of listing materials, and the listing threshold for 18A enterprises has substantially increased [3]. This year, 26 pharmaceutical and biotech companies have listed in Hong Kong, 16 of which are unprofitable Biotech companies. However, only two companies—Recurrent Bridge and Cloudtop NeoPharma—successfully removed the ‘B’ label and achieved profitability [3]. This scarcity further highlights the increasing weight of commercialization capabilities in valuation and pricing.

Hansi Aitai’s IPO break reflects a systematic adjustment in the valuation logic of innovative drugs. First, the financing environment in the primary market remains tight. In the first three quarters of 2025, the financing amount of domestic pharmaceutical and medical enterprises was only RMB 41.4 billion, a significant drop from the peak in 2021, and the capital supply is relatively tight [4]. The cooling of the primary market has transmitted to the secondary market, leading to more conservative IPO pricing. Second, the number of IPOs surged in 2025, especially the large supply of new stocks at the end of the year, which continued to divert limited market liquidity. According to statistics, more than 80 enterprises are still queuing to apply for listing under the 18A rules, with 9 new applications added in November alone [4]. The concentrated release on the supply side has intensified the dilution effect of new stock subscription funds.

The deeper reason lies in the structural contradictions in the industry’s fundamentals. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s 18A rules allow unprofitable biotech companies whose core products have entered Phase II clinical trials to list. In the early years, many enterprises could ‘lie down and list’ just by meeting the minimum requirements [4]. As the market returns to rationality, investors pay more attention to commercialization implementation capabilities. Enterprises with approved products or approaching the commercialization stage can still gain capital favor, while enterprises with early-stage pipelines and lack of core competitiveness face valuation revaluation pressure. Yu Jianlin, deputy general manager of Gotaijia Investment Group, pointed out that the current valuation logic of Hong Kong’s innovative drugs is a combination of market sentiment and fundamentals. After recent corrections, valuations are becoming more reasonable, and the role of fundamental support is becoming increasingly important [4].

The Hansi Aitai case provides an important warning for the innovative drug industry. For an innovative drug enterprise currently in the stage of high investment and no revenue, the net fundraising of HK$531 million is hardly sufficient to support multiple clinical trials and subsequent commercialization preparations [1]. The company’s book income mainly relies on royalties from previous asset divestitures, which were approximately RMB 700,000, RMB 4.4 million, and RMB 13.1 million from 2022 to 2024 respectively [1]. This fragile cash flow structure is difficult to support high R&D investment and market expectations.

From the perspective of industry development trends, Hong Kong’s biomedical sector is seeking a more sustainable balance between ‘quantitative growth’ and ‘qualitative improvement’ [3]. For investors, they need to pay more attention to the scientific value and commercial potential of enterprises and avoid blindly chasing the popularity of new stock subscriptions. For queuing enterprises, they should re-plan their capital paths: on the one hand, focus on core pipelines, cut non-essential projects to concentrate resources on advancing mid-to-late clinical trials, and improve listing certainty; on the other hand, obtain cash flow through technology licensing and cooperative development to ease capital pressure [4].

Hansi Aitai’s IPO break is not the end of the innovative drug industry, but a landmark event of rational valuation return. High-quality enterprises with real clinical progress, differentiated technology platforms, and clear commercialization paths will still receive due value recognition in the capital market; while enterprises relying on capital-driven maturation and lacking core competitiveness will gradually be marginalized in market clearing.

[1] Guancha.cn - “From 3000x Over-subscription to Near Halving of Stock Price: Hansi Aitai Faces ‘Waterloo’ in Hong Kong Listing” (https://user.guancha.cn/main/content?id=1574111&s=fwtjgzwz)

[2] Maicaijing - “19 A-share Companies Successfully Issued H-shares This Year; Four New Stocks Broke on December 22; UBtech…” (https://www.mycaijing.com/article/detail/561481?source_id=40)

[3] Sohu - “Behind the Surge of Hong Kong Biomedical IPOs in 2025: How Biotech Moves from ‘Listing Fever’ to ‘Survival Battle’?” (https://m.sohu.com/a/969201480_116062?scm=10001.325_13-325_13.0.0-0-0-0-0.5_1334)

[4] Sina Finance - “Hong Kong’s 18A Meets ‘Cold Wave’: Continuous IPO Breaks, Hidden Worries Emerge on the Issuance Side” (https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2025-12-24/doc-inhcwaft4625266.shtml)