Heart Capital Congratulates METiS Pharmaceuticals on Successful Listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange | Heart Star PORTFOLIO

On May 13, 2026, METiS Pharmaceuticals (7666.HK), an AI-powered nanodelivery biotech company in Heart Capital's portfolio, successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the world's first publicly traded company for AI drug delivery and the first HKEX-listed AI-powered macromolecular biopharma stock. The company offered 201 million shares at HK$10.50 per share, raising approximately HK$2.1 billion in total proceeds; as of press time, its market capitalization exceeded HK$30 billion. Yan Han, Founding Partner of Heart Capital, extended his sincere congratulations to METiS Pharmaceuticals: "Congratulations to Dr. Caidya Lai and Dr. Hongming Chen, and congratulations to METiS on its successful listing on the HKEX. This is an exceptional team that combines medicinal chemistry, science, and engineering capabilities — Dr. Hongming Chen has led the team in integrating top-tier medicinal chemistry expertise into the AI platform, accelerating METiS's journey from a technology platform to industrial commercialization. The IPO is a new starting point. Drug delivery is the most critical 'last mile' in the era of macromolecular and gene therapies, and we look forward to METiS continuing to deepen its expertise and becoming the cornerstone of precision delivery in China."

Proprietary Development of the World's First AI Nanodelivery Platform

Founded in 2020, METiS Pharmaceuticals' core competitive advantage stems from its independently developed NanoForge, the world's first AI nanodelivery platform. The company has built the world's largest million-scale ionizable lipid library to date, developed the world's only de novo lipid generation algorithm and lipid language model, established the world's first end-to-end lipid and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) screening platform, and pioneered the world's first AI + multiscale simulation small-molecule formulation platform. NanoForge encompasses AI foundation models, METiS intelligent agents, quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics simulations, and AI-driven high-throughput screening platforms — forming the foundation of the company's proprietary AI-driven nanotechnology innovation system. Built on NanoForge, the company has developed three core technical solutions: AiTEM, AiLNP, and AiRNA, which not only dramatically shorten drug development timelines but also enhance drug safety and efficacy.

Based on the NanoForge platform, METiS Pharmaceuticals has become the first in the industry to achieve precision targeted delivery to eight key organs and tissues: liver, lung, heart, muscle, tumor tissue, immune system, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. Its pipeline covers oncology, immune system diseases, central nervous system disorders, and metabolic diseases. The company has over 10 pipeline products, including several discovery-stage candidates, four preclinical candidates, three clinical-stage products, one pre-NDA product, and two animal health products. As of the latest practicable date, the company has filed 224 patent applications and been granted 52 patents.

METiS Pharmaceuticals holds China's first AI-enabled formulation new drug to complete Phase III clinical trials, MTS-004. MTS-004 is the first and only PBA (pseudobulbar affect) drug to complete clinical trials in China, with the potential to fill the domestic treatment gap for PBA. The MTS-004 program went from project initiation to completion of Phase III trials in 38 months. Through AiTEM's predictive analytics and advanced modeling capabilities, the company successfully reduced preclinical formulation development time from 1–2 years to less than three months.

The "rocket + satellite" next-generation in vivo immunotherapy paradigm is central to METiS Pharmaceuticals' differentiated innovation pipeline. MTS-105 is a flagship pipeline product that efficiently activates anti-tumor immunity within specific human organs, with the potential to become the world's first in vivo mRNA-encoded TCE solid tumor therapy for liver cancer and other advanced solid tumors with liver metastases. Leveraging its AiLNP and AiRNA platforms, METiS achieves highly efficient TCE expression in hepatocytes and liver cancer cells through liver-targeted LNP delivery, activating potent intra-tumoral immunity for robust tumor cell killing. MTS-105 is currently in the IIT stage and has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. FDA.

Platform and Product Partnerships Driving Commercial Moat

On commercial strategy, METiS Pharmaceuticals employs a dual-wheel drive model of "platform partnerships + product partnerships," creating a virtuous cycle of "technology iteration — commercial application — real-world data feedback." To date, METiS has over 30 pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners globally, including top-tier global pharmaceutical companies, innovative biotech firms, and medical research institutions.

METiS reported revenue of RMB 105 million in 2025, primarily from upfront payments for MTS-004 product partnerships. The total milestone payments for MTS-004 in the PBA indication reach RMB 1.845 billion, with potential additional milestone payments of up to RMB 100 million for indication expansion. Meanwhile, signed platform partnerships have reached up to $109 million per target, demonstrating initial market validation of the dual-wheel business model.

The company's R&D team is led by its three co-founders and operates from research centers in Beijing and Hangzhou, bringing together multidisciplinary expertise in nanomaterials, chemistry, biology, physics, computational science, and medicine to strongly support innovation in AI nanodelivery and cross-disciplinary breakthrough research. The team comprises over 100 scientists and technical personnel, including approximately 40 PhD holders. The majority of operating expenses relate to R&D, primarily covering employee benefits for scientists and engineers, equity incentive expenses, laboratory materials and equipment procurement, and professional service fees (including payments to CROs). From 2023 to 2025, the company maintained consistently high R&D investment at approximately RMB 270 million annually.

Going forward, METiS will continue prioritizing R&D as a strategic focus. Approximately 50.0% of net IPO proceeds will fund core research, development, and advancement of AI infrastructure and the AI-driven nanomaterials platform; approximately 20.0% will support ongoing and planned clinical trials for AI-developed pipeline products, advancing candidate drugs across multiple therapeutic areas and modalities; and approximately 10.0% will develop animal health and anti-aging solutions, extending AI-enabled offerings into these high-growth sectors.

Dr. Caidya Lai, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of METiS Pharmaceuticals, stated: "The future of biomedicine will no longer be simply 'take medicine when sick.' METiS's ambition is to use AI to build nanoscale rockets that navigate precisely through the inner space of the human body's 30 trillion cells, writing nucleic acid and protein code into cells to reprogram diseased and aging cells into healthy ones. This was our founding mission, and it is the cause we will dedicate our lives to. The IPO is a new starting point to accelerate forward, and we will not let down the support and trust from all quarters."

Heart Capital was founded in 2022 as a venture capital fund focused on investing in early-stage Chinese technology startups.

The Heart Capital team consists primarily of founding partners and core investors from Lightspeed China, alongside seasoned investors from industry. The team's past investments include MetaX (688802.SH), Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV, 09868.HK), Full Truck Alliance (NYSE: YMM), Sunmi Technology (06810.HK), RoboSense (02948.HK), Ambiq Micro (NYSE: AMBQ), Hanshow Technology (301275.SZ), FinVolution (NYSE: FINV), Qimengdao Group (NASDAQ: HERE), as well as LandSpace, MinoSpace, Baichuan, Yunmanman Cold Chain, World Logistics, Dedao, and Lanhu.

Rooted in China with a global outlook, Heart Capital is committed to early-stage partnership with and support for entrepreneurial teams with the potential to become world-class Chinese technology companies. Heart Capital champions the value of "heart," believing that technology can serve as a bridge connecting minds. Heart Capital looks forward to accompanying more young Chinese entrepreneurs onto the world stage.