Hong Kong listed Innovent Biologics believes it can help usher in a ‘game changer’ for drug prices in China

Competition in China’s nascent market for a novel category of cutting edge cancer treatments is set to intensify, according to newly listed Innovent Biologics.

Chinese pharmaceutical companies will adopt a low price strategy on domestically-produced antibody cancer drugs, catering to millions of cancer patients who cannot afford expensive imports, said Michael Yu Dechao, co-founder and chairman of Innovent Biologics.

The development is expected to see an eventual reversal of the phenomenon of mainland patients travelling to Hong Kong to buy cheaper drugs, said Yu. In the future, he said even Hongkongers seeking access to cheaper medicines are likely to look for alternatives north of the border.

“Desperate mainland patients were estimated to have spent 1.2 billion yuan (US$172.2 million) last year to buy PD-1 antibody treatments by getting prescriptions from Hong Kong doctors,” he said. “In the future, this will reverse as Hong Kong people will go to the mainland to buy these drugs at cheaper prices.”

Innovent, one of the first batch of firms listed in Hong Kong under the new listing regime, jumped 18.6 per cent to close at HK$16.58 in debut trade on Wednesday.

PD-1 and PD-L1 drugs are antibodies that use the body’s own immune system to fight tumours, by preventing cancer cells from immune response evasion and enabling immune cells to more effectively identify and kill them.