Mirxes becomes SEA's first biotech unicorn after HK IPO

Singapore-based Mirxes has become the first biotech company from Southeast Asia to reach unicorn status on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).

This follows the firm’s HKEX debut on May 23, 2025, which closed its first trading day with a market capitalization of HK$8.29 billion (US$1.06 billion).

Shares of Mirxes opened at HK$23.30 (US$2.98) and reached an intraday high of HK$31.95 (US$4.08) before closing at HK$30 (US$3.83) per share. This marks a 28.76% increase from the initial offer price.

Around 9.18 million shares were traded on the first day, resulting in a total turnover of about HK$275 million (US$35.1 million).

Mirxes specializes in miRNA technology for disease detection and operates in key markets, including Singapore and China.

Its main product, GASTROClear, is a blood-based detection panel for gastric cancer, which received regulatory approval in Singapore in 2019.

The company plans to use the proceeds from its IPO to expand its research and development capabilities, as it aims to advance its precision medicine solutions for Southeast Asia.

🔗 Source: Mirxes Holding Company Limited

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Singapore’s strategic biotech hub status propels regional innovation

Mirxes’s successful IPO reflects Singapore’s broader strategy to position itself as Southeast Asia’s premier biotech hub, a plan that began with the National Biomedical Science Strategy established in 2000 1.

This milestone IPO demonstrates how Singapore-based companies are now competing globally, with other notable Singapore biotech firms like Hummingbird Bioscience raising $125 million in Series C financing and Engine Biosciences securing $27 million for oncology programs 1.

The strong market reception to Mirxes, with shares jumping 28.76% on debut, signals investor confidence in Southeast Asia’s biotech potential, particularly for companies addressing the healthcare needs of the region’s 600 million people 2.

Singapore’s supportive regulatory environment has been crucial, as evidenced by Mirxes obtaining Class C in vitro diagnostic certification from Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority in 2019, enabling its commercial success.

2️⃣ miRNA technology represents a high-growth diagnostic frontier

Mirxes’s focus on miRNA-based diagnostics positions it in a rapidly expanding market projected to grow from $379 million in 2024 to $763.1 million by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 12.4% 3.