What’s next for China’s biopharmas after a roller-coaster week

A volatile six days of trading in China biotech shares began with a shocking announcement from the Chinese government and ended with a statement by the chair of the U.S. SEC, Gary Gensler, calling for greater transparency by China’s U.S.-listed companies. The roller-coaster week in the markets underscores why U.S.-listed China companies need to prepare for greater transparency and put contingency plans in place such as a dual-listing, while China biotechs seeking a listing abroad should steel themselves for data privacy reviews.

Concerns that biopharma could be the next industry to be scrutinized by Beijing sent shares falling in Hong Kong and the U.S. beginning July 23, after a government directive related to the education sector decreed that the companies in China’s burgeoning after-school tutoring industry could no longer be publicly traded, among other reforms. ...