Ropes & Gray Represents China Biotech LianBio in $325 Million U.S. IPO

In The News
November 9, 2021

Ropes & Gray represented Shanghai-based biotechnology LianBio as issuer counsel in a $325 million initial public offering, one of the largest biotech IPOs in 2021. The company sold 20.3 million American depository shares for $16 per share. Additionally, the company granted the IPO underwriters the option to acquire up to 3 million additional shares at the initial public offering price. The ADSs began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on November 1 under the ticker symbol “LIAN. 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. are acting as joint bookrunning managers for the offering. Raymond James is acting as lead manager for the offering. 

LianBio focuses on bringing innovative medicines to patients in China and other Asian markets. The company was founded in 2019 by life sciences investment firm Perceptive Advisors. Ropes & Gray advised LianBio on the company formation, seed financing, bridge financing note and initial collaboration with oncology drug company BridgeBio Pharma. 

In 2020 Ropes & Gray represented LianBio in strategic licensing collaborations with Pfizer and California-based biotechnology companies MyoKardia and BridgeBio Pharma to expand their reach into China, the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market. In 2021 Ropes & Gray advised LianBio in strategic licensing transactions with Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a $200 million deal for an eye therapy, with Landos Biopharma in a $218 million deal to develop and commercialize two ulcerative colitis drugs, with Lyra Therapeutics for an intra-nasal drug to treat chronic rhinosinusitis, with Nanobiotix for an oncology drug and with ReViral for a respiratory syncytial virus collaboration. 

The Ropes & Gray team representing LianBio was led by life sciences partner Eric Wu (Shanghai) and capital markets partner Thomas Danielski (Boston) and capital markets associates Lisa Folkerth (Boston) and Xinyi Song (Shanghai) and included IP transactions partner Hannah England (Freeman) (Boston), life sciences regulatory & compliance partner Katherine Wang (Shanghai), tax partner Elaine Murphy (Boston) and employment & benefits partner Renata Ferrari (Boston) .