Chinese insulin manufacturer Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (SHSE: 603087), Qiming's portfolio company today lands on the A-shares main board market. The issue price of Gan & Lee is RMB 63.32 per share. The stock opens at RMB 91.18 per share, up 44%, with a market cap of RMB 36.57 billion.
The listing of Gan & Lee marks Qiming's fifth IPO exit in 2020, following RoboRock (SHSE:688169), Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR), Sanyou Medical (SHSE:688085) and SinocellTech (SHSE: 688520).
In 2010, Qiming was the sole investor in Gan & Lee's Series A round; in 2011, Qiming led the company's Series B round. Qiming is the largest institutional investor of Gan & Lee.
The core business of Gan & Lee is development, manufacturing and commercialization of recombinant insulin analogues (third-generation insulin) and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Founded by Dr. Gan Zhongru, a pioneer in China's insulin industry, Gan & Lee has achieved multiple breakthroughs in the Chinese biopharmaceutical industry.
In 2001, Gan & Lee successfully developed third-generation insulin technology and was the first Chinese company to achieve large scale manufacturing and commercialize recombinant insulin analogue. It launched the first fast-acting human insulin analogue "Prandilin®" (insulin lispro) in China. In 2002, it launched the first long-acting human insulin analogue "Basalin®" (insulin glargine) and the first premixed insulin analogue "Parandilin®25" in China. The three recombinant insulin analogue products cover the three insulin function segments of long-acting, fast-acting and medium-acting. In 2020, Gan & Lee's insulin aspart injection was approved for marketing by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).
IMS data shows that the market share of the third-generation insulin accounts for 80% in the US and European countries. After the third-generation insulin entered China, its market share rose to 50% (2016) from 40% (2011). Gan & Lee's products have a distinct price advantage, which can significantly lessen the burden of diabetes patients.
By end of 2019, Gan & Lee's products have been sold to nearly 7,700 hospitals in China, including over 2,400 Grade 3-level hospitals. It expanded its sales network to more than 20 countries. In 2018, Gan & Lee and Sandoz announced a US and European commercialization partnership for three of its insulin analogs. It has announced construction of a second manufacturing facility in Linyi, Shandong Province, which will produce company's pipeline drugs for global consumption.
Dr. Gan Zhongru stated his vision: "The company will actively participate in the R&D of oncology drugs, eukaryotic and prokaryotic protein engineering, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. We aim to become a world-class pharmaceutical company and will never stop exploring for more."
"Gan & Lee is the first Qiming investment in biopharmaceutical sector and it is an honor to work alongside Dr. Gan for the last 10 years and to witness how it grew from a startup to becoming one of the global leaders in the diabetes sector and beyond. Under the leadership of Dr. Gan, the company has always thrived for cutting-edge technology and to be a research centric pharmaceutical company," said Nisa Leung, Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners. "We look forward to seeing Gan & Lee continue to building a strong metabolic portfolio as well as other innovative drugs for China and globally."