HJ Science’s Hong Kong debut quickly became a valuation test for pre-revenue biotech listings. The Sichuan-based company began trading on June 23. Two days later, as of publication, its share price had fallen by more than half.

The weak debut followed an unusually volatile gray market session on June 22. HJ Science priced its IPO at HKD 81.8 (USD 10.4) per share. In Futu’s gray market, where shares trade before their official listing, the stock opened at HKD 100.8 (USD 12.9), up 23%, and briefly climbed to HKD 159.6 (USD 20.4), nearly double the offer price. It then fell as low as HKD 73.85 (USD 9.4) and closed at HKD 79.1 (USD 10.1), 3.3% below the IPO price. The session’s trading range reached 104.83%, with turnover of HKD 132 million (USD 16.8 million).

The swing stood out in a market where, according to 36Kr, more than 90% of new Hong Kong listings in 2026 had risen on their first trading day. HJ Science’s first 48 hours suggested that investors were questioning whether the company’s pipeline and cash runway could support its valuation.

The IPO mainly buys time

HJ Science was founded in Chengdu in 2017 by specialists in autoimmune disease, metabolism, and oncology. It listed under Hong Kong’s Chapter 18A regime, which allows qualifying biotech companies without revenue or profit to go public. CITIC Securities was the sole sponsor. The company has no approved drugs and no product revenue.

Its reported revenue rose from RMB 1.8 million (USD 264,018.7) in 2024 to RMB 12.98 million (USD 1.9 million) in 2025, but all of it came from licensing and collaboration arrangements with TopAlliance, according to 36Kr. The revenue was recognized over time from an earlier RMB 30 million (USD 4.4 million) upfront payment from TopAlliance and two milestone payments totaling RMB 20 million (USD 2.9 million) from a TopAlliance affiliate.

HJ Science’s loss profile needs context. Its annual loss narrowed from RMB 202 million (USD 29.6 million) in 2024 to RMB 135 million (USD 19.8 million) in 2025. But 36Kr noted that the 2024 figure included a RMB 125 million (USD 18.3 million) fair value loss on preferred financial instruments issued to pre-IPO investors. That was a noncash accounting item, and it disappeared after the termination of special rights in August 2024.

Stripping out that item, the operating picture is less reassuring. R&D expenses rose 47% to RMB 110 million (USD 16.1 million) in 2025. Administrative expenses more than doubled to RMB 28.29 million (USD 4.1 million), partly because of listing preparations, and the company also incurred RMB 16.03 million (USD 2.4 million) in listing expenses. Net cash used in operating activities widened from RMB 78.04 million (USD 11.4 million) in 2024 to RMB 89.43 million (USD 13.1 million) in 2025.

Cash was tight before the IPO. Cash and cash equivalents fell from RMB 179 million (USD 26.3 million) at the end of 2023 to RMB 53.81 million (USD 7.9 million) at the end of 2024, then to RMB 3.72 million (USD 545,638.6) by the end of 2025. As of April 30, the company had only RMB 4.9 million (USD 718,717.5) in cash and cash equivalents, though financial assets brought total liquid resources to about RMB 327 million (USD 48 million).

Management estimated that existing resources could support about 18 months of operations if the future cash burn rate were 2.3 times the 2025 level. Including IPO proceeds, that runway could extend to about 69 months. In that sense, the listing is not only a financing event. It gives a clinical-stage pipeline more than five years to produce a commercial answer.

A pipeline built around crowded targets

HJ Science’s story rests on small-molecule innovative drugs. Its portfolio includes three core products, HJ787, HJ178, and HJ891, one main product, HJ197, as well as one clinical-stage candidate and five preclinical candidates. None has been approved for sale.

HJ787 is a topical TYK2 inhibitor for autoimmune conditions, including mild to moderate atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, and neurodermatitis. TYK2 is a signaling protein involved in immune and inflammatory responses. The Phase 2 atopic dermatitis data cited by 36Kr showed a week-eight EASI-75 response rate of 62.5% in the high-dose group, meaning 62.5% of patients achieved at least a 75% improvement in the eczema area and severity index. But the field is crowded. China already has 13 TYK2-targeted candidates in Phase 2 or Phase 3 trials, as well as 26 registered candidates targeting the JAK family for atopic dermatitis.

HJ178 is the company’s oral metabolic disease candidate, positioned around the GLP-1 and GIP pathway and aimed at diabetes and weight management. The oral format gives it clear commercial appeal in a market shaped by semaglutide and tirzepatide, but competition is intense. 36Kr cited 104 clinical-stage GLP-1 therapies in China for type 2 diabetes, including 19 oral candidates, and 91 GLP-1 therapies for obesity or overweight, including 26 oral candidates.

HJ891, a KRAS G12C inhibitor, may be closer to a near-term filing. In Phase 1 and 2a monotherapy data cited by 36Kr, the drug showed an objective response rate of 47.2%, compared with 36% for sotorasib. In combination with toripalimab, the reported overall response rate reached 77.8%. Even so, China already has four approved KRAS G12C inhibitors and 17 candidates in development, nine of which have reached Phase 2 or later. The domestic KRAS G12C market was only about RMB 200 million (USD 29.3 million) in 2025, according to 36Kr.

HJ197, an FGFR4 inhibitor for liver cancer, is a collaboration product with TopAlliance. In June 2025, the project was shifted to Junze Chuangyao, which can fund 50% of the costs in exchange for 50% of Asian rights. A Phase 3 study is planned for July.

Early investors have the clearest gains

Before listing, HJ Science completed six financing rounds from 2017 to 2025, raising about RMB 619 million (USD 90.8 million).

The earliest investors have the clearest paper upside. Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment entered in the 2017 Series A round at a cost of RMB 8.24 (USD 1.2) per share, an 88.42% discount to the HKD 81.8 IPO price and roughly 8.6 times its entry cost, according to 36Kr. After the offering, it still held 7.5% of the company. Junlian Xinkang, an investment vehicle linked to Lenovo, held 5.77% after the IPO.

Later pricing was much flatter. In the Series C1 round in December 2023 and the Series C2 round in June 2025, the per-share cost was RMB 45, (USD 6.6) while post-money valuation rose only slightly from RMB 2.63 billion (USD 385.8 million) to RMB 2.7 billion (USD 396 million). That implies primary-market pricing had been largely stagnant for about a year and a half. The prospectus attributed the valuation increase between the Series C2 round and the IPO to two catalysts: HJ178’s planned Phase 2 start in July 2025 and the milestone payments mentioned above.

The cornerstone lineup also shows how much of the IPO was institutionally supported. Six cornerstone investors subscribed for USD 65 million, about HKD 509 million (USD 64.9 million), accounting for 45.7% of the offer shares and 8.6% of total post-IPO share capital. All are locked up for six months.

The next milestones have to carry the valuation

HJ Science founder Ji Jianxin, 50, earned a doctorate from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2004 and later conducted chemistry research at Vanderbilt University. He has published more than 40 papers in journals including PNAS and JACS, accumulated more than 1,400 citations, and applied for nearly 30 patents, according to 36Kr. Before founding HJ Science, he worked at Diao Group from 2007–2016, eventually serving as executive vice president.

The company’s senior team has similar links. COO Yang Xiangyu previously worked as a drug development researcher at Diao, while R&D head Guo Na previously led a chemical innovative drug lab at the company and holds a doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

That background gives HJ Science scientific credibility, but public markets will now ask for clinical and commercial proof. The company has three marketable themes in TYK2, oral GLP-1, and KRAS, but all three are crowded. It also has no approved drug, no product revenue, a recent cash crunch, and a valuation that depends on future milestones.

The concerns are concrete:

• Can HJ891 submit its new drug application as planned in the second half of 2026?
• Can HJ787 differentiate itself in a crowded TYK2 and JAK field?
• Can HJ178 find room in an oral GLP-1 market with dozens of competitors?

For now, HJ Science’s drop suggests investors are not rejecting the story outright. But they are asking whether the story is worth the price.

KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Peng Xiaoqiu for 36Kr.

Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.82 = USD 1 based on estimates as of June 25, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.