The Hong Kong Stock Exchange main board recently welcomed another biotech company's prospectus submission.

On September 29, 2025, Shaanxi Micot Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "MicOT") submitted its listing application, with China Construction Bank International and CMB International serving as joint sponsors.

This biotechnology company, controlled by an academic couple from Xi'an Jiaotong University, has yet to commercialize any products and has accumulated losses exceeding 300 million yuan, yet achieved a valuation of 2.636 billion yuan in its latest funding round.

As capital becomes increasingly cautious toward biotech companies, what attracts renowned institutions like Arctic Light Venture Capital and Newlinks Capital to invest in MicOT? What lies behind its 2.6 billion yuan valuation and the prospects for peptide drugs?

**Academic Entrepreneurship Background**

As a biotechnology company, MicOT's founding team possesses a strong academic background, representing typical "scholar entrepreneurship."

Chairman and CEO Wang Bing, 55, has extensive academic and industry experience. He previously served as a teaching assistant at Xi'an Medical University and worked as a professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University from August 2001 to December 2019, focusing on medical education and research.

Wang Bing's academic credentials are solid: he obtained a bachelor's degree in clinical medicine from Xi'an Medical University in 1994, a master's degree in oncology from Xi'an Jiaotong University in 1999, and a doctorate in pharmacology from Xi'an Jiaotong University in 2007.

According to the prospectus, Wang Bing has over 20 years of experience in the medical and pharmaceutical industries and has served as an evaluation expert for the national "Major New Drug Development" program.

Non-executive Director Wang Mei, 52, shares her husband's deep medical background. She currently serves as chief physician in the dermatology department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, focusing on clinical diagnosis and treatment of dermatological conditions.

Wang Mei's academic achievements are equally notable, having received first prize for Shaanxi Province patents and second prize for Shaanxi Province Scientific and Technological Progress Award as the second contributor.

This academic power couple established MicOT's technological foundation and DNA, resulting in a relatively concentrated ownership structure. Founders Wang Bing and Wang Mei collectively control approximately 53% of the company's equity, maintaining absolute controlling interest.

Specifically, Wang Bing directly holds 40.56% of company shares, Wang Mei directly holds 6.6%, and Wang Mei indirectly holds 5.48% through her controlled entity Xi'an Zhongrui.

**Institutional Investment Backing**

Beyond the controlling shareholders, MicOT has attracted notable institutional investors.

Suzhou Mainiu under Newlinks Capital holds 9.99%, making it the largest institutional investor; Yuezhuo under Arctic Light Venture Capital holds 6.48%; Linhai Qize holds 5.26%; Huaxin Medical Venture Capital holds 2.84%; and Suzhou Rongsheng holds 2.50%.

These investment institutions have extensive experience in biomedical investments, providing capital and resource support for MicOT's R&D and commercialization efforts.

Notably, MicOT completed a 236 million yuan funding round on September 26, achieving a post-money valuation of 2.636 billion yuan. This financing occurred just before submitting the prospectus, representing both market recognition and establishing a valuation benchmark for the company's pre-IPO stage.

**Platform Technology Focus**

MicOT positions itself as a "platform biotechnology company" committed to accelerating innovation and development of next-generation bispecific/multispecific peptide drugs globally.

The prospectus reveals that the company's R&D pipeline covers metabolic diseases (particularly kidney-related conditions) and cardiovascular diseases.

Its core product MT1013 is the world's first dual-target receptor agonist peptide drug simultaneously targeting CaSR and OGP receptors.

The product's primary indication is secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), with potential expansion to additional indications including mineral and bone metabolism disorders associated with osteoporosis in chronic kidney disease.

As of the prospectus disclosure date, MT1013 completed its Phase II clinical trial for SHPT treatment in May 2025 and has entered a Phase III clinical trial using cinacalcet as the positive control drug.

Beyond its core product, MicOT has three key pipeline products.

XTL6001 is the world's first and only GLP-1R/GCGR/MasR triple-target agonist approved for clinical research in both China and the United States and entering clinical trial stages. This product has potential applications in chronic weight management for obese or overweight populations.

MT1002 is the world's first dual-target peptide antagonist for coagulation factor II and GP IIb/IIIa, primarily targeting clinical needs in anticoagulation and antithrombotic fields including ACS-PCI surgery, stroke, and hemodialysis anticoagulation.

MT200605 is an injectable neuroprotectant that simultaneously activates TrkB receptors and efficiently scavenges oxygen free radicals, providing dual pathways to block cascade pathological damage following acute ischemic stroke.

By the number of dual/multifunctional peptide candidate products in clinical stages, MicOT ranks first among domestic pharmaceutical companies.

However, it's worth noting that the company's core product and three key products are all candidate products in clinical stages. As of the latest practicable date, MicOT has not obtained marketing approval for any candidate drugs nor generated any revenue from product sales.

**Financial Challenges**

As a biotechnology company without commercialized products, MicOT's financial condition exhibits typical characteristics of early-stage R&D enterprises: significant losses.

In 2023, 2024, and the first half of 2025, the company's other income was 6.969 million yuan, 4.002 million yuan, and 1.222 million yuan respectively.

These revenues did not come from product sales but likely include government subsidies and bank interest, bearing little relation to the company's core drug development business.

The company's pre-tax losses for the period were 195 million yuan, 157 million yuan, and 49.901 million yuan respectively, with cumulative losses exceeding 300 million yuan over two and a half years.

Losses primarily stem from high R&D expenses. In 2023, 2024, and the first half of 2025, the company's R&D expenses were 87 million yuan, 107 million yuan, and 40 million yuan respectively. R&D expenses increased 23% year-over-year in 2024, indicating the company is accelerating its development progress.

As of December 31, 2023, and June 30, 2025, the company's net liabilities were 499 million yuan and 844 million yuan respectively, with net current liabilities of 907 million yuan recorded on June 30, 2025. As of June 30, 2025, the company held 107 million yuan in cash and cash equivalents.

Considering the company's annual loss magnitude, existing cash reserves may struggle to sustain long-term operations, which may be one reason the company seeks IPO financing at this time.

**Commercialization Timeline and Market Prospects**

According to the prospectus, MicOT's core product MT1013 is expected to commercialize in early 2028.

The company plans to implement a dual-track commercialization strategy: domestically through partnerships with third-party contract sales organizations, and internationally through licensing partnerships. This strategy helps the company fully utilize various resources to quickly open markets, particularly suitable for R&D-type biotech companies lacking proprietary sales teams.

From an industry perspective, MicOT focuses on metabolic diseases and cardiovascular drug markets with broad market potential.

Taking the SHPT drug market targeted by the company's core product MT1013 as an example, China's SHPT drug market is expected to reach 5.5 billion yuan by 2030 and further grow to 14.1 billion yuan by 2035, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.5%.

The overweight and obesity drug market is even larger, with China's market expected to reach 22 billion yuan by 2030 and 102.6 billion yuan by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of 36.1%.

**Competition and Risks**

Despite vast market potential, competition is extremely fierce. Notably, the company currently has no operating revenue, and future post-commercialization revenue will primarily depend on sales of core product MT1013 and other key products like XTL6001, MT1002, and MT200605.

This means individual product revenue proportions will depend on factors including market promotion, product efficacy, and competitive landscape. In SHPT treatment, multiple CaSR agonist drugs have been approved with several others in clinical stages, potentially creating significant competitive pressure for MicOT.

Additionally, the company has limited experience in drug launch and marketing. Commercialization involves complex stages including regulatory approval, quality control, and market promotion, where mistakes in any area could lead to product launch delays or poor market acceptance.

MicOT acknowledges in its prospectus that "competitors may launch more effective, safer, or cheaper drugs faster, limiting the company's market share after product commercialization and preventing recovery of R&D costs."

**Industry Reflection**

MicOT's Hong Kong listing journey reflects a pattern in China's biotech industry: academic entrepreneurship, capital promotion, and Hong Kong listings.

With the continued impact of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Chapter 18A listing rules, more unprofitable biotech companies can access capital markets. Whether MicOT can leverage its peptide drug platform technology to gain favor in capital markets and achieve the leap from R&D to commercialization remains subject to market validation.