Frontage Holdings, a pharmaceutical contract research organization with offices in Exton and Hangzhou, China, has raised nearly $200 million in a Hong Kong IPO, writes Joseph DiStefano for Philadelphia Inquirer.

The company, which employs hundreds of people at both of its locations, announced that its shares began trading on the Main Board of The Hong Kong Stock Exchange on May 30. During the first day of trading, Frontage shares rose 4.7 percent from the initial offer price of HK $3.20, to close at HK $3.35.

By day’s end, the total trading volume was nearly 280.7 million shares and raised a total of HK $1.51 billion in net proceeds, or around U.S. $200 million.

Frontage plans to use the money for product development “to capitalize on growth opportunities arising in the two largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, the United States and China.”

“We are recognized as a leader among CRO companies in the United States, in terms of quality, reliability, affordability, productivity, technology, and regulatory compliance,” said Song Li, the founder and honorary chairman of Frontage. “Our successful listing today marks another important milestone in our development history.“

Read more about Frontage Holdings in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.

[uam_ad id=”80503″]

.

[uam_ad id=”80502″]