Hutchison China MediTech seeks admission to London's AIM

Hutchison China MediTech (Chi-Med), a holding company of a China-based pharmaceutical and healthcare group, is seeking admission to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. The group intends to raise up to £40m through placing of new Ordinary Shares with institutional and other qualified investors.

Chi-Med is a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and has developed businesses in drug development, healthcare supplements and consumer products based on traditional Chinese medicine and botanical ingredients.

Chi-Med researches and develops botanical, semi-synthetic natural products, and synthetic single chemical entity drugs for use in the oncology and autoimmune therapeutic areas through Hutchison MediPharma. It currently has FDA approval to conduct Phase I/II clinical trials in the US on two botanical drug candidates: HMPL-002, a radiosensitiser for the treatment of head and neck cancers in combination with radiotherapy; and HMPL-004, a proinflammatory cytokine inhibitor for the treatment of Crohn's Disease.

Its China healthcare business develops and sells traditional medicine-based products and health supplements, via three joint ventures in China - Hutchison Healthcare, Shanghai Hutchison Pharmaceuticals, and Hutchison Baiyunshan. The consumer products division is developing a Sen brand of skin and bodycare products.

Christian Hogg, ceo of Chi-Med, said: "In China, there is a wealth of knowledge and history of usage of Tra-ditional Chinese Medicine, which we believe is a major, under-exploited reservoir for identifying and developing novel pharmaceutical and consumer products for the global market. The experience of our team, the state of art facilities we operate and the balance of our businesses provide the foundation and potential for Chi-Med to build a global business. Flotation is our next milestone."