A million‑yuan salary couldn't keep the secretary — foreign backer exits as Baili Tianheng (百利天恒) faces a high‑stakes bet on one drug

What happened

Baili Tianheng (百利天恒) is running fast — and now the sprint is exposing cracks. The company disclosed that its second‑largest shareholder, OAP III (HK) Limited（奥博资本）, has sold 4.1287 million shares (1.00% of the company) between Feb. 9 and Mar. 30, raising about ¥1.126 billion. After the sale OAP’s stake fell from 6.91% to 5.91%, but it remains the firm’s second‑largest shareholder; the company said the reduction was driven by the investor’s funding needs. At the same time, 11.8738 million restricted shares (2.88% of the float) issued in a 2025 private placement to 18 institutions, including China Europe Fund and E Fund, were unlocked on Mar. 25 and began trading — increasing short‑term free float pressure.

Personnel turnover has added to investor unease. Chen Yingge (陈英格), a 35‑year‑old board secretary with a pharmacology master’s from UCL and prior seven years at Junshi Biosciences, resigned in February despite a freshly renewed term; her 2024 pre‑tax salary was ¥1.0475 million. The company named veteran executive Zhang Suya (张苏娅), who is approaching 70, as acting secretary. It has been reported that other communications and public‑affairs staff have also left; the firm is hiring aggressively across HR, investor relations and commercial roles as it ramps preparations to commercialize its lead asset.

Why it matters

Baili Tianheng’s market value and investor narrative are overwhelmingly tied to one drug: Iza‑bren (BL‑B01D1), a home‑grown EGFR×HER3 bispecific ADC that vaulted the company into prominence after a 2023 deal with Bristol‑Myers Squibb reportedly carrying up to $8.4 billion in contingent value. But Iza‑bren remains unapproved anywhere and must clear more clinical, regulatory and commercial hurdles overseas for the valuation to hold. Meanwhile the company’s legacy generics and traditional medicine businesses are shrinking and cannot sustainably fund heavy global R&D: chemical formulation revenues fell steadily from ¥962m in 2019 to ¥322m in the first half reported years, and the firm swung to a ¥1.051bn net loss in 2025 on revenue of ¥2.52bn. Long‑term debt has climbed from ¥1.189bn to ¥2.81bn.

Analysts warn the combination of a larger tradable float, recent insider and staff turnover, rising leverage and an innovation pathway with high binary risk makes Baili Tianheng a single‑asset‑dependent story — one that could spectacularly reward or punish investors depending on Iza‑bren’s clinical and commercial fate. In the broader context, foreign investors in China’s biotech sector are navigating shifting capital flows and geopolitical scrutiny; is this a routine exit and lock‑up schedule playing out, or an early signal that the market is starting to test a once‑feted growth story? For now, investors will be watching clinical milestones and cash management more closely than ever.