Prenetics To Become First Unicorn from Hong Kong To Go Public via SPAC Merger

On September 16th, Hong Kong-based Prenetics, a COVID-19 diagnostics company, entered into the much-awaited definitive merger agreement with Artisan Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) owned by renowned cultural entrepreneur Adrian Cheng.

The deal propelled Prenetics to an enterprise value of US$1.25 billion with a combined equity value of approximately US$1.7 billion. With this, the startup became the first unicorn from Hong Kong to be publicly listed in any market.

“It was our core mission to seek out a high impact and high growth global company, and I am very pleased that we have found it with Prenetics,” said Adrian Cheng, Founder of Artisan.

“I am also proud to support Prenetics in being the first Hong Kong unicorn to go public and to support local entrepreneurship. We share the vision to provide easily accessible and decentralized healthcare services to millions of people globally. I look forward to this ongoing partnership and, together, creating greater shared value for all,” he added.

Rapid Molecular Testing Technology

Since its launch in 2014, Prenetics has grown immensely with projected revenue of $205 million in 2021, which is a 215% year-on-year growth from $65 million in 2020.  This is further expected to balloon to $600 million in 2025.

Prenetics has become the leading genomics and diagnostics testing company in Hong Kong and the UK after it made some shrewd market moves during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its rapid growth can be majorly attributed to OxLAMPTM, a rapid COVID-19 screening technology developed by Oxsed, an Oxford University spin-out that Prenetics acquired last year.

After the resounding success of an initial collaboration, last April the University of Oxford signed a three-year, multi-million-pound collaboration with Prenetics to further advance the rapid molecular testing to detect other infectious diseases.

Prenetics Current and Future Product Portfolio

The development of fast, accurate, and cheap COVID-19 detection products enables decentralizing the screening process and reduce the reliance on laboratories. Prenetics’ one-stop laboratory PCR testing solution for COVID-19 testing provides diagnostic services to up to 3,000 players and staff of the English Premier League on a regular basis.

To date, more than 5 million COVID-19 tests have been performed with clients, including the Hong Kong government, Hong Kong International Airport, London Heathrow Airport, and several global corporates including Virgin Atlantic, Carnival Cruise Line, and Sky TV.

Prenetics also boasts of CircleDNA—a direct-to-consumer DNA test with whole-exome sequencing technology providing more than 500+ valuable health reports.

Besides, it is developing Circle HealthPod, a CE-IVD point-of-care diagnostics and at-home rapid detection health monitoring system for infectious diseases. The product utilizes the technology developed by the University of Oxford, which provides laboratory PCR quality results available in just 20 minutes on the device or on a smartphone. Currently developed for COVID-19, the R&D work for the detection of influenza and STDs is also underway with a possible rollout in 2022.

In the next few years, Prenetics is also planning to launch key products in Hong Kong, the UK, and Southeast Asia regions to replicate the success that companies like Exact Sciences and Invitae enjoy in the US. That includes ColoClear, a non-invasive colon cancer stool DNA test, Circle Snapshot, an at-home blood testing program, and Circle Medical, a genetic test for physicians.

“Our goal is to decentralize healthcare by bringing it closer to millions of patients globally,” said Danny Yeung, CEO, and Co-Founder of Prenetics. “With a strong existing business, an exciting product pipeline, and a clear M&A acquisition strategy for USA geographical expansion, we have first-mover advantage and are well-positioned for our next chapter of growth.”

Author

Rajaneesh K. Gopinath