NovaBridge Biosciences has submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's main board, with Goldman Sachs and CITIC Securities acting as joint sponsors. Founded in 2016, NovaBridge is a global biotech platform company adopting a therapeutic area-agnostic development strategy. Since its inception, the company has primarily focused on developing self-developed innovative precision immuno-oncology drugs for cancer treatment. To further enrich its proprietary pipeline, NovaBridge seeks collaboration opportunities for clinical development and commercialization of drug candidates to better capture market potential.
The company recently adopted a new business model, aiming to identify and advance high-value therapeutic assets through strategic partnerships and specialized subsidiaries. This approach positions NovaBridge as a biotech platform, establishing separate subsidiaries to oversee therapy-focused asset development, thereby enhancing oversight, operational focus, and risk management.
NovaBridge’s core product, givastomig, is a novel bispecific antibody (bsAb) targeting Claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2)—a tumor antigen predominantly expressed in gastric, esophageal, and pancreatic cancers—as well as the T-cell co-stimulatory molecule 4-1BB. Due to CLDN18.2’s broad expression across multiple tumors, givastomig has potential applications in gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA, including gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma), biliary tract cancer (BTC), and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Givastomig (also known as ABL111, TJ033721, and TJCD4B) offers two key advantages over existing CLDN18.2 and 4-1BB agonist antibodies: (1) it effectively binds even to tumors with low CLDN18.2 expression, potentially benefiting a broader patient population; and (2) its 4-1BB activation is restricted to tumor cell binding, enabling localized immune activation while minimizing systemic side effects like hepatotoxicity observed in preclinical and clinical studies of other 4-1BB therapies.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the global first-line treatment markets for GEA, BTC, and PDAC (excluding Greater China and South Korea) were estimated at $8.9 billion, $1.8 billion, and $4.4 billion in 2024, respectively, with projections to reach $13 billion, $2.9 billion, and $6.4 billion by 2034. NovaBridge has completed Phase 1a of its Phase I study and the safety assessment of Phase 1b dose escalation. A randomized Phase II study is set to begin in early 2026, with no objections raised by the U.S. FDA regarding the trial design for CLDN18.2-positive and PD-L1-positive GEA patients.
Beyond givastomig, NovaBridge’s pipeline includes three clinical-stage programs: two oncology candidates (uliledlimab and ragistomig) and an ophthalmology candidate (VIS-101). Financially, the company reported total comprehensive losses of approximately $202 million and $28.6 million in 2023 and 2024, respectively, with a $9.9 million gain and a $5.0 million loss in the six months ended June 30, 2024, and 2025.