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Brii Biosciences shares surge after launching China’s first domestically developed Covid-19 drug
- Hong Kong-listed Brii Biosciences jumped as much as 30 per cent after it announced the commercial launch of its Covid-19 drug
- Launch of China’s first home-grown Covid-19 medication – Brii-196/Brii-198 – comes amid a flare-up in cases on the mainland
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Brii Biosciences jumped by the most in three months on Thursday, after the Hong Kong-listed biotech company announced the commercial launch of China’s first domestically developed Covid-19 drug.
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Brii co-developed the Covid-19 monoclonal neutralising antibody therapy – Brii-196/Brii-198 – with Tsinghua University and the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen.
The drug, which is administered intravenously, has been approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration to treat adults and some children who are at high risk of developing severe Covid-19. The cocktail treatment showed an 80 per cent reduction in hospitalisation and deaths compared with a placebo in non-hospitalised patients, according to the company.
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made molecules that serve as substitute antibodies. They help stop the spread of the virus and are especially vital for patients with low levels of immunity and with other serious underlying diseases such as cancer. Antibody therapies manufactured by firms such as AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have already been approved for emergency use in the US.
Brii’s stock jumped as much as 30 per cent to HK$11.50. The shares eventually closed 11.8 per cent higher at HK$9.87, the biggest gain since a 17.8 per cent jump on March 30 this year. The broader Hong Kong market meanwhile closed up 0.3 per cent, after slipping earlier to its lowest level in two weeks.
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