Mainland China’s investors pour into Hong Kong-listed drug stocks, riding licensing wave

Investors in Mainland China raised their stakes in Hong Kong-listed drug makers through the cross-border trading link over the past week, as a wave of out-licensing deals between the country’s pharmaceutical firms and global partners rolls on.The Hang Seng Southbound Connect Hong Kong Innovative Drug Index, which tracks around 40 of the largest Hong Kong-listed Chinese drug manufacturers, biotech researchers and AI-driven drug developers by market capitalisation, rose about 9 per cent between February 2 and Tuesday morning.The southbound Stock Connect mechanism, introduced in 2014, allows qualified investors on the mainland to buy eligible shares listed in Hong Kong.CSPC Pharmaceutical Group led the pack on Tuesday morning with a 6.7 per cent gain, followed by Sichuan Kelun-Biotech, with a 5.9 per cent rise. WuXi Biologics, Innovent Biologics and Keymed Biosciences advanced 5.8 per cent, 5.6 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.Keymed Biosciences’ cancer drug CM336 was granted fast track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration in late January, allowing the firm to speed up the new medicine’s approval process.Innovent’s gain came after the Suzhou-based developer of oncology and autoimmune therapies on Sunday announced a deal worth up to US$8.85 billion with US firm Eli Lilly to collaborate on new medicines.A Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed that Innovent stood to receive a US$350 million upfront payment, plus development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments totalling about US$8.5 billion.