CK Life unit merges with TransCode as Li Ka-shing firm eyes anticancer drugs pipeline

Upon completion of the transaction, CK Life will own about 9.1 per cent of TransCode’s outstanding common shares

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Company flags flutter outside Cheung Kong Centre. CK Life Sciences International is set to merge its subsidiary Polynoma with TransCode Therapeutics to boost its pipeline of anticancer drugs. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:45am, 9 Oct 2025Updated: 6:25pm, 9 Oct 2025

CK Life Sciences International is set to merge its subsidiary Polynoma with Nasdaq-listed TransCode Therapeutics, in a move expected to boost the pipeline of anticancer drugs, according to the biotech unit controlled by the Li Ka-shing family.

The agreement paved the way for TransCode to acquire the parent company of Polynoma from DEFJ, an indirect wholly owned unit of CK Life, the latter said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange after trading hours on Wednesday.

In exchange, TransCode would issue US$125 million worth of new common and non-voting preferred shares to the parent company of Polynoma, CK Life said. These non-voting preferred shares can be converted to common shares subject to the approval of TransCode’s shareholders and relevant Nasdaq rules.

The share conversion is expected to be completed within the next six to nine months, said Alan Yu, deputy chairman and executive director of CK Life during a media luncheon on Thursday.

(From left) CK Life Sciences’ vice-president and chief scientific officer Melvin Toh, deputy chairman Alan Yu and CEO Lance Lee Yuen. Photo: Handout

CK Life, through DEFJ, also agreed to invest about US$25 million in TransCode to support the continued development of both Polynoma’s lead therapeutic candidate and TransCode’s pipeline.

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