Akeso
 | |
Native name | 康方生物科技(開曼)有限公司 |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| SEHK: 9926 | |
| Industry | Biopharmaceutical |
| Founded | 19 March 2012 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Zhongshan, Guangdong, China |
Key people | Michelle Xia (Chairwoman & CEO) |
| Revenue |  CN¥2.04 billion (2024) |
| CN¥−501.09 million (2024) | |
| Total assets |  CN¥12.76 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | CN¥6.75 billion (2024) |
Number of employees | 3,035 (2024) |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes [1] | |
Akeso, Inc (Akeso; Chinese: 康方生物; pinyin: Kāngfāng Shēngwù) is a publicly listed Chinese biopharmaceutical company that is headquartered in Zhongshan, Guangdong.
It is best known for developing Ivonescimab, a cancer treatment antibody.
History
[edit]Akeso was founded in 2012 by Michelle Xia and three other co-founders. Its name comes from the Greek goddess of healing, Aceso. At the time, China had few labs capable of finding drugs on their own. Akeso started with a little less than $3 million in venture capital funding. It rented an office and brought on researchers with undergraduate degrees. The founders didn't receive salaries.[2]
In 2015, Akeso won a licensing deal with Merck & Co., which bought the worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Quavonlimab, a cancer treatment antibody. The deal gave Akeso credibility and enabled it to expand.[2]
In April 2020, Akeso held its initial public offering and became a listed company of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[2][3]
In September 2024, Akeso's Ivonescimab was said to have beaten Keytruda in a trial held in China. This was considered a watershed moment for Chinese pharmaceutical companies although it did not receive much attention at the time.[2][4] However, as of September 2025, further studies showed Ivonescimab had not yet demonstrated a good enough survival benefit in patients in the study for US approval.[5]
In April 2025, the Food and Drug Administration approved Akeso's Penpulimab making it the first product from Akeso to be approved by US regulators.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "2024 Annual Report" (PDF). Akeso.
- 1 2 3 4 Leong, Clarence (12 April 2025). "The Chinese CEO Who Believes Her Cancer Drug Can Beat Merck's Bestseller". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- ↑ Ng, Eric (23 April 2020). "Akeso banks on pharma tie-up for growth after record-setting biotech IPO". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- ↑ Chang, Wayne (26 February 2025). "A little-known Chinese company made a drug that beat the world's biggest selling medicine". CNN. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- ↑ Smith, Gerry (8 September 2025). "Summit Falls After Lung Cancer Data Disappoints Wall Street". Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Plieth, Jacob (25 April 2025). "Akeso cracks the US at last". ApexOnco. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
