Under the pressure of the betting agreement, Genuine Biotech makes its third attempt at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

The market demand for the core product Azvudine has long since faded, and the termination of cooperation with FOSUN PHARMA has led to a cliff-like decline in revenue, with cash flow nearing depletion, along with a listing gamble agreement that has only 7 months left.

Key Points:

• In September 2024, Genuine Biotech Limited will reclaim the commercialization rights of Azvudine, with new channels achieving only 9 million yuan in sales revenue in the first half of 2025.
• Cumulative losses over two and a half years amount to 989 million yuan, and the company's cash flow is also facing severe difficulties, with cash and cash equivalents totaling only 50.505 million yuan.

Molly

Once upon a time, companies developing COVID-19 drugs were the darlings of the capital market. However, as the pandemic benefits faded, the industry's enthusiasm quickly cooled, and these companies, which once relied on the halo of "star miracle drugs," are now facing severe transformation challenges. In this cold wave, Genuine Biotech Limited, which rose to prominence with the first domestically produced oral COVID-19 drug Azvudine, submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the third time in November 2025.

Prior to this, Genuine Biotech had submitted applications in August 2022 and February 2025, both of which failed to pass the hearing within six months. Unlike previous attempts, this time, Genuine Biotech's listing endeavor is a "breakthrough battle" that is crucial for its survival: the market demand for the core product Azvudine has long since faded, the termination of cooperation with FOSUN PHARMA has led to a cliff-like decline in revenue, cash flow is nearing depletion, and there is a listing gamble agreement with only 7 months remaining.

Founded in 2012, Genuine Biotech is a biotechnology company focused on the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative drugs for viral infections, tumors, and cardiovascular diseases. It has five candidate pipelines, with the core product being the first approved domestically produced oral COVID-19 drug Azvudine, along with four other pipelines still in the preclinical stage. As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, leading to a significant decline in demand for related drugs, Genuine Biotech is working to develop combination therapies for Azvudine, hoping to expand its indications to major diseases such as liver cancer, colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and HIV infection.

It is worth noting that Azvudine received conditional approval from the National Medical Products Administration for the treatment of COVID-19 in July 2022, but has faced a series of doubts regarding short clinical research time, data opacity, and lack of efficacy. According to the conditional approval requirements from the National Medical Products Administration, Azvudine must complete confirmatory clinical research by 2026 to obtain formal approval with sufficient evidence of efficacy and safety; otherwise, its drug registration certificate will be revoked in 2027, and it will exit the market. Genuine Biotech revealed in its application documents that it expects to complete the clinical research report by the end of 2025.

Even if Azvudine receives formal approval, the significant downward trend in Genuine Biotech's sales is unlikely to reverse. The application documents show that the company's operating revenue for 2023, 2024, and the first half of 2025 is expected to be 344 million yuan, 238 million yuan, and 16.53 million yuan, respectively. Revenue in the first half of 2025 is expected to plummet by 92% year-on-year, primarily due to the significant reduction in royalty income after terminating cooperation with FOSUN PHARMA In 2022, Genuine Biotech Limited reached a commercialization cooperation with FOSUN PHARMA, granting FOSUN PHARMA exclusive commercialization rights for Azvudine in mainland China. In 2023 and 2024, the majority of Genuine Biotech's revenue was contributed by this cooperation. However, in September 2024, Genuine Biotech terminated its cooperation with FOSUN PHARMA and reclaimed the commercialization rights for Azvudine, opting to hire distributors for sales. As of June 30, 2025, Genuine Biotech had signed distribution agreements with 74 distributors, but the transformation results were far below expectations, with new channels achieving only 9 million yuan in sales revenue in the first half of 2025.

Severe Financial Situation

Genuine Biotech's profitability is also concerning. In 2023, 2024, and the first half of 2025, the company's net losses were 784 million yuan, 40.042 million yuan, and 165 million yuan, respectively, with a cumulative loss of 989 million yuan over two and a half years. Meanwhile, the company's cash flow has also encountered severe difficulties. As of June 30, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were only 50.505 million yuan, a significant decrease from 138 million yuan at the end of 2024.

Research and development investment has also been forced to shrink due to financial pressure. In 2023, 2024, and the first half of 2025, the company's R&D expenses were 238 million yuan, 151 million yuan, and 54.052 million yuan, showing a clear downward trend. As of the first half of 2025, Genuine Biotech's total assets minus current liabilities were negative 984 million yuan, indicating that the company faces severe short-term debt repayment pressure.

The greatest pressure facing Genuine Biotech comes from the impending expiration of the betting agreement. According to the application documents, the company completed two rounds of financing in 2021 and 2022, raising a total of 713 million yuan. These financings included redemption rights in the betting terms, allowing investors to require the company to repurchase preferred shares at an annual interest rate of 10% if Genuine Biotech's IPO application is rejected or if it fails to complete the IPO within 47 months of the initial submission. Genuine Biotech's initial submission date was August 2022, and nearly 40 months have passed, meaning the company has only about 7 months left to complete the IPO