WuXi AppTec Plans China IPO

Wuxi AppTec, China's largest CRO/CMO, has begun the application process for an IPO on a China exchange. Previously, the company was rumored to favor a reverse-merger transaction, which is generally considered a short-cut alternative to the long wait of an official China IPO. But WuXi has announced it will seek an A-Share listing in RMB, and that it has enlisted Huatai United Securities to shepherd the company through the process. In January, WuXi filed to list WuXi Biologics on the Hong Kong exchange at a $1.5 billion valuation, and its small molecule manufacturing subsidiary, SynTheAll, has been listed on China's OTC Third Board since 2014.