Laekna goes public with vow to develop differentiated innovative drugs

Chinese biotech Laekna (HK: 2105) has listed on the main board of Hong Kong’s stock exchange.

Laekna intends to use the funds raised by the offering to advance clinical development of its core products, LAE001 and LAE002, to drive forward its broader pipeline and to improve its manufacturing capacities.

LAE001 is an androgen synthesis inhibitor that inhibits both CYP17A1 and CYP11B2. According to consultancy Frost and Sullivan, it is the only dual CYP17A1/CYP11B2 inhibitor in clinical trials for the treatment of prostate cancer globally. It can block both androgen and aldosterone synthesis and potentially be administrated without prednisone, the short-term high dose or long-term exposure of which can lead to a variety of adverse events.