Axiom Biosciences is preparing for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming to raise between $150 million and $200 million next year to accelerate its regenerative medicines pipeline, CEO and founder Remo Moomiaie-Qajar said on July 21.
The San Diego-based company would be among the first American biotechs to list in Hong Kong rather than on traditional U.S. exchanges such as Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange. Moomiaie-Qajar said the recent release of Phase 1 data for Axiom’s lead asset, a stem cell therapy developed with South Korea’s Medinno, prompted both a rebranding from Cytonus Therapeutics and the decision to pursue a public listing. The therapy reportedly prevented death at one year for nine newborns with intraventricular hemorrhage or hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, compared to a historical mortality rate of 46% after one year.
“The announcement of the clinical trial results that came out earlier this week was essentially a trigger for us to not only rebrand, but a moment where we’re taking the company in a new direction, which is taking it public,” Moomiaie-Qajar said last Friday.
Moomiaie-Qajar said Axiom’s established relationships with Asian companies—including co-developer Medinno and Seoul-based investor Partners Investment—make Hong Kong an advantageous choice. “We’re just simply taking a contrarian perspective about the way in which we think about financing in general,” he said. “Ultimately, we all have to think differently.”
To date, Axiom has raised $14 million in equity along with eight non-dilutive grants. The company has operated with up to 13 employees while advancing several umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell candidates and introducing AI-designed cancer and autoimmune programs. While it does not currently have partners in China, Moomiaie-Qajar said Axiom is engaging potential collaborators there as it moves assets into later-stage clinical studies.
Although focused on Asia for its upcoming IPO, Axiom has not ruled out pursuing a secondary U.S. listing in future years; its trials are run domestically, and it holds two Rare Pediatric Disease Designations from the Food and Drug Administration. “It is an arrow in our quiver,” Moomiaie-Qajar said regarding a possible U.S. IPO.
