(Yicai) Dec. 28 -- Health Guard Biotechnology, which had an initial public offering in Beijing in March, plans to go public on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to advance its go global strategy. If the Chinese recombinant vaccine maker succeeds, it will be the first company to dual-list in both Beijing and Hong Kong.

Health Guard plans to issue shares offshore in Hong Kong to improve its capital structure and overall competitiveness, the Beijing-based firm said on Dec. 26. The size of the offering has not yet been decided, it added.

The proceeds from the secondary listing will be used for clinical trials of its main products, research and development of preclinical programs and preparations for the mass production and commercialization of its vaccines, Health Guard said.

Health Guard, which does not yet have any jabs for sale, needs funds to bring its products to market. The company, whose losses widened 6.8 percent in the first nine months from a year ago to CNY225 million (USD31.7 million), has 10 products in the pipeline. This includes trivalent and nine-valent human papillomavirus vaccines for the prevention of cervical cancer which are now in the final stage of clinical trials.

Most of the HPV vaccines used in China are imported, and there is a big gap between vaccination rates at home and those in developed countries, so a homemade HPV vaccine would have huge potential for growth, according to a report by Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.

Health Guard raised CNY294 million (USD41.3 million) in its IPO in March and in May, the company implemented a 1:2 stock split, halving its share price. The firm’s stock price [BJ:833575] closed down 7.3 percent at CNY24.62 (USD3.46) today, after surging 30 percent to the exchange-imposed limit on Dec. 26.

Editor: Kim Taylor