SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Mirxes, a Singapore-based biotechnology startup, is weighing an initial public offering (IPO) in the city-state next year that could raise about US$300 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company is in discussions with bankers about a potential offering that could value it at over US$1 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private.

Deliberations are ongoing and Mirxes could decide not to proceed with the offering, said the people. Calls and emails to Mirxes seeking comment were not returned.

Any listing would help to further stimulate the IPO market in Singapore. First-time share sales in the city-state totalled US$348 million so far this year, up from US$242 million in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Founded in 2014 as a spinoff from Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research, also known as A*Star, Mirxes focuses on early detection of multiple cancers using proprietary RNA-powered blood tests, according to its website. The startup raised US$87 million in a series C funding round in 2021, taking the total amount raised to US$130 million since its inception.

Mirxes has operations in China, Japan and the US and commercial activities in over 45 countries, according to a recent press release. In 2020 the startup along with A*Star and others worked to mass produce Singapore's first authorised Covid-19 PCR test, with more than 8 million kits deployed globally.