Daily, Wed 4 Nov: China IPO pause, Atom lingdolinurad gout, Hemay psoriasis IPO, Nanochap BCI

Full transcript, with sources

Numbers in [brackets] link to the sources at the end of the section or episode. Chinese names are given in characters with Hanyu Pinyin; on air, Ning says them in Mandarin.

Sources

1. Straits Times / Reuters, 3 Nov 2026, "China regulator tells banks to pause IPOs: Report" (FT report, three sources; Reuters could not verify; regulators did not reply; CSI300 −8.5% in October, worst month in more than a decade): https://www.straitstimes.com/business/china-regulator-tells-banks-to-pause-ipos-report

2. CSRC Q&A, 2 Nov 2026 (third swap-facility batch, 31 firms, >RMB100bn; buyback relending made long-term, rate cut to 1%): https://www.csrc.gov.cn/csrc/c100028/c7668092/content.shtml

3. RTHK, 3 Nov 2026 (closing index levels; FT report on banks holding off new listings): https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876397-20261103.htm

4. Pilot, 31 Oct 2026 (callbacks: "more PepStar-style cash deals, and fewer spin-outs"; Hemay debut "a live test of appetite for biotech listings without revenue"): our episode page [4][5]

5. etnet HK IPO calendar (Hemay 0054 books close 4 Nov, lists 9 Nov; Denglin 9917 closes 5 Nov, lists 10 Nov, HK$231–288): https://www.etnet.com.hk/www/eng/stocks/ci_ipo.php

6. Hemay prospectus, HKEXnews, 30 Oct 2026: https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/1030/2026103000029.pdf

7. Mufemilast mechanism (selective PDE4 inhibitor; inhibits T-cell activation and pro-inflammatory cytokines): Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development, first-in-human study: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpdd.70005 ; IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology: https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/LigandDisplayForward?ligandId=14395

8. Atom Therapeutics company press release (Business Wire), 2 Nov 2026: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261102997917/en/ (also on Yahoo Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/atom-therapeutics-present-phase-2b-103000403.html)

9. Fierce Biotech, 3 Nov 2026, Rhythm–LG Chem bivamelagon licence: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/rhythm-doubles-down-lg-obesity-license-raising-payout-much-855m

10. CBC Globe, 3 Nov 2026, Samchundang–Daiichi Sankyo Espha SCD411 (aflibercept biosimilar) Japan deal: https://cbcglobe.com/en/articles/2026/11/03/samchundang-pharmaceuticals-signs-exclusive-japan-sales-agre-add7d069

11. Daily, 3 Nov 2026 (callback: Fresenius–WuXi Biologics biosimilars deal): our episode page

12. Fierce Pharma, 3 Nov 2026, Lonza buys Merck KGaA's US CDMO network: https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/lonza-bets-big-us-growth-snaps-merck-kgaa-cdmo-business-amid-industry-consolidation

13. TechNode, 3 Nov 2026, Nanochap RMB500M Series C+: https://technode.com/2026/11/03/visual-brain-computer-interface-developer-nanochap-raises-rmb-500-million/

14. Daily, 2 Nov 2026 (callback: brain tech theme, NeuroXess): our episode page

15. etnet Denglin IPO detail (Suzhou Denglin Technology, GPGPU provider for AI computing): https://www.etnet.com.hk/www/eng/stocks/ci_ipo_detail.php?code=9917 [5][15]

16. Tiger Brokers HK wrap, 3 Nov 2026 (Hang Seng +0.57% to 23,525.97; biopharma led declines): https://www.itiger.com/hans/news/1101245502

17. XBI close, 3 Nov 2026 (US$154.95, +1.91%): https://exa.ai/library/markets/stock/XBI?date=2026-11-03&view=daily

Transcript

[opening music]

Opening

BASIL: A report says Beijing has told banks to pause new listings, while Hong Kong's queue keeps moving. A Chinese gout pill beats the standard drug. And a Hangzhou implant that aims to bring back some sight raises money.

BASIL: I'm Basil Lui, and I invest globally from Singapore, backing growth-stage companies with an Asia angle. This is The East-West Bio Brief, biotech and beyond, and it's the daily edition for Wednesday, November fourth.

NING: And I'm Ning. As always, these are our own voices, AI-cloned so we can bring you this every morning. Personal views, not investment advice.

China

BASIL: Let's start in China, with the stock market.

NING: The Financial Times reports that China's securities regulator told investment banks to pause initial public offerings, and suspended large share sales by existing shareholders until markets recover. Reuters could not verify the report, and the regulator hasn't commented. What is on the record is Monday's support package, which includes cheaper loans for companies buying back their own shares. [1][2] [1][3]

BASIL: That matters for biotech, because a company with no revenue usually needs the stock market to pay for its trials. So if the onshore window really is shut, those companies would lean harder on private rounds or on licensing drugs out for cash, which is the pattern we flagged in our pilot on October thirty-first. [4]

BASIL: Our next stop is Hong Kong, where no report says listings are halted.

NING: Hemay Pharma, in Chinese 和美药业 (Héměi Yàoyè), closes its books on Wednesday, November fourth, and is due to start trading on Monday, November ninth. Its lead drug, mufemilast, is a pill for psoriasis, the immune disease that causes thick, scaly patches of skin, and it works by damping down the signals that overactive immune cells use to drive inflammation. [5][6][7]

BASIL: Next, the clinic.

NING: In a company press release, Atom Therapeutics, based in Hangzhou and in Newark, California, reported results for its gout pill, lingdolinurad. Gout is a painful arthritis caused by too much uric acid in the blood, and this pill helps the kidneys flush uric acid out. [8]

NING: In a China trial, ninety-one point nine percent of patients on lingdolinurad got their uric acid under target after eight weeks, versus fifty-one point six percent on febuxostat, a commonly used gout drug. And in a twenty-four week extension, tophi, the chalky crystal lumps of advanced gout, shrank, and in some patients cleared completely. [8]

BASIL: It's early, so the caveats matter: these are the Phase Two-B results, in Chinese patients only, and the full poster comes at the American College of Rheumatology meeting on Monday, November ninth. [8]

Wider Asia

BASIL: Let's head beyond China. We start in Korea.

NING: Rhythm Pharmaceuticals rewrote its licence with LG Chem for bivamelagon, a pill for hypothalamic obesity, which is runaway weight gain after damage to the brain's hunger centre. The pill switches on M-C-four-R, a receptor in the brain that helps control appetite. [9]

BASIL: The deal's potential value rises to eight hundred and fifty-five million US dollars, from three hundred and five million, and Rhythm plans to start a Phase Three trial by the end of this year. [9]

BASIL: Next, a biosimilar deal.

NING: Samchundang Pharm gave Daiichi Sankyo Espha exclusive rights to sell its copy of aflibercept in Japan. Aflibercept is an eye injection for wet macular degeneration, an age-related disease that blurs central vision. The terms weren't disclosed. [10]

BASIL: On Tuesday we covered Fresenius's biosimilars pact with its Chinese partner, and this is the same thread. [11]

Rest of the world

BASIL: Now, the rest of the world.

NING: Switzerland's Lonza is buying the US contract manufacturing network of Germany's Merck K-G-a-A, five sites and about eleven hundred staff. Several of the sites make parts for antibody-drug conjugates, which are antibodies that carry a toxic payload to cancer cells. [12]

Beyond Biotech

NING: Now, beyond biotech.

NING: Hangzhou's Nanochap, in Chinese 暖芯迦 (Nuǎnxīnjiā), raised five hundred million yuan in a Series C-plus led by Gaorong Ventures. It builds brain-computer interfaces to restore vision, and the company says its three hundred and twenty channel retinal implant is in clinical trials, with three participants implanted so far. [13]

BASIL: That carries on the brain-tech thread from our November second episode, and the aim is to give some people who have lost their sight part of it back. [14]

East-West deep tech

BASIL: Now, deep tech, and one more Hong Kong listing.

NING: Suzhou's Denglin Technology, in Chinese 登临科技 (Dēnglín Kējì), which designs graphics processors for A-I computing, closes its books on Thursday, November fifth, and is due to list on November tenth. [5][15]

BASIL: With onshore listings reportedly on pause, it's a test of whether Hong Kong will fund Chinese chip companies.

The mood

NING: And the mood. On Tuesday the Hang Seng Index rose about zero point six percent, but biotech and pharma stocks led the decliners. In the US, the X-B-I biotech fund rose about one point nine percent. [16][17]

One thing to watch, call to action and sign-off

BASIL: My one thing to watch is Hemay's first day of trading on Monday, November ninth, which we called a live test of appetite for biotech listings without revenue back in our pilot, and with this mainland report out, it carries a bit more weight. [4][5]

BASIL: If this brief is useful, follow The East-West Bio Brief on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

NING: And for transcripts and sources, subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter, also called The East-West Bio Brief. It goes out every Monday with our weekly roundup.

NING: That's today's brief. The key sources are in the show notes. See you tomorrow.

[closing music]