By Amanda Lee
Shares of Harbour BioMed soared after the Chinese biopharmaceutical firm announced a collaboration with U.K. pharma giant AstraZeneca, which plans to invest $2.5 billion in China.
The stock rose as much as 28% to 10.00 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to US$1.29, in early Monday trade in Hong Kong, before paring gains to 7.15%.
AstraZeneca's five-year US$2.5 billion investment, announced on Friday, includes a new research-and-development center in Beijing and a research agreement with Harbour BioMed. The U.K. firm will also acquire 9.15% in newly issued shares of the Hong Kong-listed pharma group.
The collaboration is aimed at discovering and developing next-generation multi-specific antibodies, including for immunology and oncology, Harbour BioMed said separately on Friday.
Under the agreement, Harbour BioMed stands to receive US$175 million in upfront payment, near-term milestone payments and option exercise fees for additional programs. It is also eligible for up to US$4.4 billion in additional development and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on future sales.
Harbour BioMed and AstraZeneca may expand their collaboration to additional programs over the next five years, with the option to extend the terms of the agreement for an additional five years, it added.
Harbour BioMed also plans to establish an innovation center in Beijing with AstraZeneca to support the collaboration programs and other joint initiatives.
Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2025 23:00 ET (03:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.