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China Power Woman’s Akeso Raises $150 Mln After First Profit Russell Flannery Forbes Staff Following Mar 23, 2024, 06:50am EDT Share to
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Twitter Share to Linkedin Akeso's share price has more than doubled at the Hong Kong Exchange since the company went public in ... [+] 2020. Photographer: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg © 2024 Bloomberg Finance LP Akeso Inc., whose CEO Michelle Xia ranked No. 7 on a new Forbes China survey of the country’s most successful businesswomen this month, has raised the equivalent of $150 million through a sale of new shares, the company said on Thursday. Akeso, founded in 2012, specializes in antibody drugs that help the immune system fight off disease, including cancer. It sold 24.8 million shares at HK$47.65 each for research spending and other uses, according to the company’s announcement. Akeso’s shares fell by 6.1% in trading at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the news, closing at HK$47.60 on Thursday. They slid another 3.1% on Friday. The sale came after Akeso on Monday reported net profit in 2023 of 1.9 billion yuan, or $270 million, reversing a year-earlier loss of 1.4 billion yuan. Revenue soared by 440% from a year earlier to 4.5 billion yuan in part on income of 2.9 billion yuan from an upfront licensing payment from Nasdaq-listed Summit Therapeutics. Akeso’s stock rose to a 2024 high of HK$51.95 on March 15 after the company earlier this month predicted its first-ever annual profit. The Zhongshan-headquartered Akeso went public at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020 at HK$16.18 a share. Xia, who also goes by Xia Yu, received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Sun Yat-sen University in China in 1988, as well as a Ph.D. in molecular biology and microbiology from Newcastle University in the U.K. in 1994. She conducted
cancer immune therapy research at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1996 to 2000, and held posts at Bayer and elsewhere before co-founding Akeso. MORE FOR YOU iOS 17 4 1 Update Now Warning Issued To All
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Moscow shooting That Left 40 Dead Stability AI Founder Emad Mostaque Plans To Resign As CEO Sources Say The scientist-entrepreneur holds about 80.7 million shares in Akeso– or a 9.6% stake – worth about $477 million on Friday. Forbes China’s ranking of the country’s most successful
Women was topped by Wang Laichun, the leader of
Apple supplier Luxshare. Forbes China highlighted the country's top businesswomen in its latest issue. Forbes China See related post: Apple Supplier Repeats At No. 1 On List Of China’s Top Businesswomen “Vexing” Year Ahead: Asia Society Highlights 10 Likely Trends in China In 2024 Another Look:
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