https://www.scmp.com/rss/6478/feed Eric joined the Post in 1998 after brief stints in a trading company, and translation and editing roles at Dow Jones and Edinburgh Financial Publishing. He has over 20 years of experience covering China's energy, mining and industrial materials sectors, and has reported on China's healthcare and biotechnology sectors for three years. Currently, he leads the Post's coverage on climate change, energy transition and sustainability topics. Eric has a Masters of Business Administration degree. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Eric Ng,Julie Zhang Eric Ng,Julie Zhang The ferocity of China’s biopharmaceutical investment boom this year – fuelled by record-breaking licensing of commercial rights to global giants after a three-year slump – may have surprised casual observers. But according to Helen Chen, one of the most respected analysts and advisers in China’s life sciences space, the supercharged sector’s real renaissance came two years earlier. In December 2022, US drug maker MSD agreed to license global (excluding China) rights to develop and commercialise... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3331950/six-best-how-chinas-new-biotech-vanguard-banking-billions-breakthroughs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3331950/six-best-how-chinas-new-biotech-vanguard-banking-billions-breakthroughs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 03:00:14 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), a fast-growing next-generation cancer treatment, have become an investment hotspot due to its potential to become mainstream globally, according to biopharmaceutical industry insiders. To achieve sustainable growth and maximise revenue potential, companies should pursue differentiated product development and a global clinical strategy, according to Duality Biotherapeutics, which organised a biotech forum in Shanghai last week. The Shanghai-based company – which... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3330377/china-biotech-forum-bills-antibody-cancer-drugs-next-generation-treatment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3330377/china-biotech-forum-bills-antibody-cancer-drugs-next-generation-treatment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 02:30:09 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) start-up Stellerus Technology aims to be the world’s first provider of satellite-enabled three-dimensional wind data to help wind power, transport and insurance firms boost revenues, cut costs and manage risks, according to its founders. Stellerus, founded in 2023 by the university’s academics, would leverage China’s cost competitiveness in satellite manufacturing to make global 3D wind data collection economically viable, said Su Hui, the... https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3330245/hong-kong-start-stellerus-eyes-worlds-first-supply-3d-wind-data-satellites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3330245/hong-kong-start-stellerus-eyes-worlds-first-supply-3d-wind-data-satellites?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Oct 2025 03:00:16 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Shares of Chinese drug firm Akeso – likened by some Western media outlets to artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek – rose after the company unveiled clinical-trial data showing that its lung-cancer drug outperformed a highly effective existing treatment. The data showed that ivonescimab had “a decisive and strong positive outcome with both significant and clinically meaningful benefits”, Akeso said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday. The drug, used along with... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3329639/chinas-akeso-dubbed-biotechs-deepseek-gets-share-boost-cancer-drug-trial-data?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3329639/chinas-akeso-dubbed-biotechs-deepseek-gets-share-boost-cancer-drug-trial-data?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 07:00:12 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Two Chinese drug developers have signed licensing deals that could yield as much as US$2.5 billion in performance-based payments, underscoring growing international confidence in China’s life sciences sector. Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group has agreed to license global rights – excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan – to develop and market a colon cancer drug candidate to F Hoffmann-La Roche, a unit of Swiss-based biotech giant Roche. Hansoh, a major psychotropic and cancer drugs... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3329353/chinas-hansoh-and-leads-biolabs-clinch-us25-billion-global-drug-licensing-deals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3329353/chinas-hansoh-and-leads-biolabs-clinch-us25-billion-global-drug-licensing-deals?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 05:06:08 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng The full impact of the US removing import duty exemptions for e-commerce shipments may take a year to reach consumers, similar to the timeline seen after the UK’s exit from the European Union, according to the CEO of DHL Express. Consumers had yet to fully realise the additional costs they might have to bear, said John Pearson. “When Brexit happened, I was receiving calls from customers even one year later, saying the duties charged on their orders must have been incorrect,” he told the Post in... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3329192/full-impact-us-e-commerce-duty-change-may-take-year-dhl-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3329192/full-impact-us-e-commerce-duty-change-may-take-year-dhl-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:23:28 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Global trade has withstood the test of the Trump administration’s tariff hikes and is expected to continue to hold up in the next few years, albeit at a slower growth pace, according to new research. Global trade volume would grow at an average annual rate of 2.5 per cent between this year and 2029, according to a special update of the DHL Global Connectedness Tracker published on Tuesday. The figure roughly matches the pace in the previous 10 years, but is slower than the 3.1 per cent rate... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3328862/trumps-century-high-tariffs-will-slow-global-trade-growth-not-kill-it-dhl-nyu-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3328862/trumps-century-high-tariffs-will-slow-global-trade-growth-not-kill-it-dhl-nyu-study?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:00:09 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Time Medical Systems, a Hong Kong maker of advanced medical devices co-founded by US-trained Chinese academics, is seeking a new site to expand production as it eyes a 30-fold increase in sales of its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners in the next few years. The company is commercialising superconductor materials and magnet technologies that can slash the production and operating costs of such scanners while also cutting turnaround time, part of an effort to make early disease diagnosis... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3328747/hong-kong-mri-maker-time-medical-seeks-new-site-it-eyes-30-fold-sales-increase-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3328747/hong-kong-mri-maker-time-medical-seeks-new-site-it-eyes-30-fold-sales-increase-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 03:30:12 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Cancer screening device developer Mirxes Holding has won approval from Beijing to launch a gastric cancer test, the first blood test for the disease in China’s vast oncology diagnostics market. Its leading product, GastroClear, an in-house-developed non-invasive blood test, was approved by the National Medical Products Administration of China, the Singapore-based micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) technology firm said in a filing to Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Thursday. “GastroClear is the world’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3328316/mirxes-wins-chinas-approval-launch-groundbreaking-blood-test-gastric-cancer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3328316/mirxes-wins-chinas-approval-launch-groundbreaking-blood-test-gastric-cancer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 05:03:55 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Focused ultrasound (FUS) therapy, a sound wave treatment technology that counts Hong Kong’s tycoon Li Ka-shing among its backers, has reached an “inflection” point after 1 million patients worldwide adopted it as an alternative to surgery, radiation, drugs and other therapies, said the doctor who pioneered its use. One million patients had undergone FUS therapy since the technology was introduced six decades ago, including around 175,000 cases that involved liver tumours, according to data... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3328093/li-ka-shing-backed-focused-ultrasound-therapy-reaches-tipping-point-1-million-cases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3328093/li-ka-shing-backed-focused-ultrasound-therapy-reaches-tipping-point-1-million-cases?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:30:08 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Sungrow Power Supply, the world’s largest producer of solar inverters and energy storage systems, has joined a growing number of mainland Chinese companies seeking to float shares in Hong Kong, taking advantage of the city’s stock market boom. Based in Hefei, the capital of eastern Anhui province, Sungrow led the world with 870 gigawatts of cumulative installed capacity of inverters – devices that convert the power produced by solar panels into a format of electricity that can be consumed by... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3328118/chinese-solar-inverter-and-energy-storage-giant-sungrow-seeks-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3328118/chinese-solar-inverter-and-energy-storage-giant-sungrow-seeks-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 08:42:47 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Hong Kong shipping firm Wah Kwong Maritime Transport has teamed up with a European partner to build shoreside power-supply projects in China and North Asia to capture opportunities from tightening emission regulations at ports. Wah Kwong last month formed a 50-50 joint venture with NatPower Marine, a developer of maritime energy-transition projects that is part of Luxembourg-based renewable energy firm NatPower Group. The venture aims to form partnerships to build and operate grid-connected... https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3327764/hong-kong-shipper-wah-kwong-joins-push-greener-energy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3327764/hong-kong-shipper-wah-kwong-joins-push-greener-energy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 03:30:12 +0000 Eric Ng,Julie Zhang Eric Ng,Julie Zhang When Zhao Hong, chief doctor of China’s leading cancer hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, told his fellow delegates at a Communist Party meeting in March that a little-known Guangzhou biotech firm’s cancer drug had beaten the world’s bestselling medicine, investors took notice. “As a long-serving front-line doctor, my most profound feeling is that China is at the best time of its biopharmaceutical sector’s development,” he told state media on the sidelines of the annual Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3327701/chinas-biotech-renaissance-rising-drug-creation-prowess-attracts-global-notice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3327701/chinas-biotech-renaissance-rising-drug-creation-prowess-attracts-global-notice?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 02:00:09 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Sensor-enabled smart tyres that promise to maximise energy efficiency, safety and durability will take years to catch on globally, according to the Asia head of Goodyear Tire and Rubber, one of the world’s largest tyre makers. Nevertheless, the concept – integrating sensors inside tyres to collect real-time data that the car can use to improve safety and efficiency, avoid failures and extend tyre longevity – was gaining momentum, said Nathaniel Madarang, president of the US company’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3327631/market-sensor-laden-smart-tyres-needs-standards-get-rolling-goodyear-asia-head?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3327631/market-sensor-laden-smart-tyres-needs-standards-get-rolling-goodyear-asia-head?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:30:08 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Eleven Chinese healthcare and biotechnology companies filed applications to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange in the last two days of September, taking advantage of an ongoing investment boom in the sector. The best-known names among them are online healthcare services firm We Doctor Holdings, Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical – known for a US$8.4 billion licensing deal with US-based Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) – and profitable cancer-drug developer Betta Pharmaceuticals. Other initial public... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3327632/chinese-healthcare-biotech-firms-flock-hong-kong-ipos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3327632/chinese-healthcare-biotech-firms-flock-hong-kong-ipos?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Oct 2025 08:30:13 +0000 Daniel Ren,Eric Ng Daniel Ren,Eric Ng BeyonCa, a Chinese premium electric vehicle (EV) start-up, plans to unveil its first production model as early as the end of October as it edges closer to pioneering car manufacturing in Hong Kong. The luxury car – known as the Grand Tourer and designed for high-speed, long-distance travel – will be assembled at the Tai Po advanced manufacturing site of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP), according to people familiar with the matter. The car targets customers in Europe and the Middle... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3327130/beyonca-edges-closer-ev-production-hong-kong-prepares-luxury-car-global-buyers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3327130/beyonca-edges-closer-ev-production-hong-kong-prepares-luxury-car-global-buyers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 02:00:20 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Hong Kong has its work cut out for it to become a supply centre for green maritime fuel, as it works with partners in mainland China to build a green methanol supply chain from scratch, according to shipowner China Merchants Energy Shipping. “Hong Kong has already realised liquefied natural gas [LNG] and biodiesel [fuelling] operations, with 130,000 tonnes of throughput so far,” said Wang Yongxin, president of the Shanghai-listed company, in a press briefing on Sunday. “But on green methanol, it... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3327151/methanol-supply-key-hong-kongs-goals-green-marine-fuels-cm-energy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3327151/methanol-supply-key-hong-kongs-goals-green-marine-fuels-cm-energy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 00:30:13 +0000 Emily Hung,Eric Ng Emily Hung,Eric Ng The world’s first methanol dual-fuel-powered car carrier vessel has visited Hong Kong on its maiden voyage to Europe, as the city moves towards becoming a green maritime fuel bunkering centre. Commissioned by a unit of conglomerate China Merchants Group and built in the southeastern province of Jiangsu, the CM Hong Kong docked at Tsing Yi on Sunday flying the city’s flag. At a ceremony to mark the maiden voyage, Hong Kong’s No 2 official, Eric Chan Kwok-ki, said authorities were actively... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3327141/worlds-first-methanol-powered-car-carrier-vessel-sets-sail-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3327141/worlds-first-methanol-powered-car-carrier-vessel-sets-sail-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 08:40:12 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s up to US$7.3 billion acquisition of next-generation weight loss drugs developer Metsera will encourage more research spending on innovative products in China but is unlikely to draw new players into the fray, according to analysts. The acquisition of the US company, together with other deals by global pharmaceutical firms, would encourage companies already developing obesity drugs – including those in China – to continue their investments, said the... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326774/pfizers-metsera-acquisition-spur-chinese-search-next-generation-weight-loss-drugs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326774/pfizers-metsera-acquisition-spur-chinese-search-next-generation-weight-loss-drugs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:30:08 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Shares in Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, China’s largest drug maker by market value, got a boost on Thursday after it announced its fifth licensing deal of the year, widening its access to the key emerging market of India. The Shanghai-listed company, which went public in Hong Kong in May and raised HK$9.9 billion (US$1.26 billion), struck a deal with Glenmark Specialty of Mumbai-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, it said in a stock exchange filing late on Wednesday. The agreement was part of an... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326777/chinas-hengrui-gets-boost-fifth-drug-licensing-deal-year-adds-india-partner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326777/chinas-hengrui-gets-boost-fifth-drug-licensing-deal-year-adds-india-partner?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Sep 2025 04:48:31 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Beijing’s new rules for state-led bulk tendering of medical drugs are the latest example of its “anti-involution” drive to combat cutthroat competition, a move analysts said would favour more established players. “The centralised bulk procurement rules optimisation is a sign that the National Healthcare Security Administration is proactively pushing Beijing’s anti-involution agenda within the pharmaceutical sector as part of efforts to bolster domestic consumption,” Guotai Haitong Securities’... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326408/beijing-tackles-drug-price-wars-new-tendering-rules-anti-involution-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326408/beijing-tackles-drug-price-wars-new-tendering-rules-anti-involution-push?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 23:30:08 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng EcoCeres, a Hong Kong-based renewable biofuel producer, expressed strong interest in investing in a regional industry supply chain for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), contingent on the right conditions, according to the company’s CEO. In his policy address on Wednesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu outlined ambitious plans to develop an SAF supply chain in the Greater Bay Area. However, EcoCeres CEO Matti Lievonen said demand clarity, critical infrastructure, feedstock security... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326154/ecoceres-keen-build-green-aviation-fuel-hub-hong-kong-depending-conditions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3326154/ecoceres-keen-build-green-aviation-fuel-hub-hong-kong-depending-conditions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Beijing’s fight against disastrous competition in the solar-equipment sector showed early signs of success, with a sustained recovery in prices likely to return leading polysilicon makers to profitability after 18 months of losses, according to analysts. A raft of initiatives – including a proposal to limit manufacturing plants’ power use – following a series of government-industry meetings to discuss self-imposed production controls, had borne early fruit, they said. “Upstream solar-product... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3325974/beijings-fight-quash-solar-sector-price-war-paying-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3325974/beijings-fight-quash-solar-sector-price-war-paying-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:30:08 +0000 Eric Ng,Aileen Chuang Eric Ng,Aileen Chuang GCL Technology, one of China’s largest solar panel raw materials makers, and Yunfeng Financial Group, plan to take advantage of Hong Kong’s sustained stock market recovery to raise HK$6.6 billion (US$848.5 million) to fund their expansion. GCL agreed to sell 4.74 billion shares to Infini Capital Management, a Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi-based firm owned by Tony Chin, the Jiangsu-based maker of polysilicon and solar wafers said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Tuesday. The selling price at... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3325674/gcl-yunfeng-ride-hong-kong-stock-market-recovery-us8485-million-funding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3325674/gcl-yunfeng-ride-hong-kong-stock-market-recovery-us8485-million-funding?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 04:11:13 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Zijin Gold International said it was the world’s fastest-growing gold producer, as the offshore unit of China’s largest miner is poised to launch by Friday an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong that could be the city’s second-biggest sale this year. Average annual gold output grew 21.4 per cent every year between 2022 and 2024, making it the world’s 11th biggest producer last year, the unit of Zijin Mining Group said in its IPO prospectus. The Hong Kong-based company produced 1.5 million... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3325551/zijins-gold-mine-unit-tops-world-output-growth-ahead-us3-billion-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3325551/zijins-gold-mine-unit-tops-world-output-growth-ahead-us3-billion-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 04:51:23 +0000 Eric Ng,Xinmei Shen Eric Ng,Xinmei Shen Chinese biotech companies are winning deals with global giants as they spearhead the race to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) in the search for new and effective drugs. In the past five months alone, British drug maker AstraZeneca, US rival Pfizer and biotech firm DoveTree Medicines have signed deals potentially worth a combined US$22 billion with four China-based companies using AI-assisted drug discovery. Three of the Chinese businesses are listed on the Hong Kong stock market. China’s... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3324862/ai-turns-china-biotechs-drug-discovery-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3324862/ai-turns-china-biotechs-drug-discovery-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 07:00:13 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Chinese pharmaceutical companies are beginning to challenge Western giants in the weight-loss drugs market, fuelled by domestic demand from the world’s largest population of overweight and obese people. More than 60 late-stage weight-loss drug candidates are undergoing clinical trials in China, according to Boston-based L.E.K. Consulting, creating potential competition for Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for treating type 2 diabetes) and Eli Lilly’s... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3324006/china-goes-big-weight-loss-drugs-novo-eli-lilly-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3324006/china-goes-big-weight-loss-drugs-novo-eli-lilly-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 06:02:15 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group, two of China’s largest drug makers, are expected to report significantly improved profits, buoyed by novel drug roll-outs and revenue from technology licensing. On August 21, Hengrui, China’s largest drug maker by market value, is expected to say its net profit for the first half rose 40 per cent from a year earlier to 4.1 billion yuan (US$570.8 million), with revenue up 9 per cent to 15.7 billion yuan, according to analysts’... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3322005/chinese-pharma-firms-hengrui-hansoh-expected-post-strong-first-half-profits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3322005/chinese-pharma-firms-hengrui-hansoh-expected-post-strong-first-half-profits?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Aug 2025 23:30:12 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Shenzhen surgical robot start-up Yuanhua Tech plans to set up an assembly facility in Hong Kong to grow overseas sales and aims to float shares on the city’s bourse to fund development, according to its founder. In 2022, the company received approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration to sell self-developed orthopaedic robot systems for total and partial knee and hip joint replacement surgeries, founder and chairwoman Li Aili said in an interview. She expected that the firm,... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3321189/shenzhens-yuanhua-eyes-hong-kong-assembly-plant-ipo-overseas-surgical-robot-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3321189/shenzhens-yuanhua-eyes-hong-kong-assembly-plant-ipo-overseas-surgical-robot-push?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 03:30:07 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Shares of Shenzhen-based AI-powered drug researcher XTalPi jumped as much as 23 per cent after it signed a US$6 billion deal with a firm founded by a Harvard University chemist with a reputation as a serial biotech entrepreneur. DoveTree, established by professor Gregory Verdine, signed a definitive collaboration agreement in late June with XTalPi, the Chinese company said in a filing with Hong Kong’s bourse on Tuesday. Harvard describes Verdine as a “pioneer in chemical biology and a... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3320904/chinas-ai-powered-drug-firm-xtalpi-surges-us6-billion-deal-harvard-entrepreneur?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3320904/chinas-ai-powered-drug-firm-xtalpi-surges-us6-billion-deal-harvard-entrepreneur?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 04:35:21 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng EcoCeres, a Hong Kong-based producer of biofuels, said a European Union (EU) proposal aimed at combating fraud in the industry could discriminate against companies from outside the region. In January, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents 34 firms that produce 75 per cent of Europe’s output of the cleaner-burning alternative to fossil diesel, published proposals that it said would improve the EU’s system for quality verification. The proposals included annual on-site audits and... https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3320808/eu-biofuel-proposals-risk-discriminating-against-firms-outside-bloc-chinas-ecoceres?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3320808/eu-biofuel-proposals-risk-discriminating-against-firms-outside-bloc-chinas-ecoceres?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 23:30:07 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng A pair of Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese biotechnology firms are poised to turn a profit this year as their revenue from novel drugs finally outstrips costs related to research and development and marketing, according to analysts. “Chinese biotechs have matured significantly and are creating value for Chinese patients and government payers,” said Tony Ren, head of Asia healthcare research at Macquarie Capital, in a report on July 16. “[Some will] likely turn profitable soon and no longer rely... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3320623/innovent-beone-are-poised-profits-2025-milestone-chinese-biotech-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3320623/innovent-beone-are-poised-profits-2025-milestone-chinese-biotech-start-ups?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Aug 2025 02:19:01 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Wuxi AppTec, Asia’s largest provider of contract pharmaceutical research, has raised HK$7.70 billion (US$981 million) through a sale of additional shares in Hong Kong as it rides the wave of bullish appetite for Chinese biotechnology shares. The Shanghai-based company sold 73.8 million new shares to institutional investors at HK$104.27 each, a 6.9 per cent discount to the previous day’s closing price of HK$112 on Wednesday, it said in a filing to Hong Kong’s bourse on Thursday. The stock fell... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3320237/wuxi-apptec-raises-us981-mn-hong-kong-offer-amid-growing-appetite-chinese-biotech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3320237/wuxi-apptec-raises-us981-mn-hong-kong-offer-amid-growing-appetite-chinese-biotech?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Jul 2025 04:44:09 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will potentially pay a Chinese company US$12.5 billion for exclusive global rights to develop a dozen drugs, in a landmark deal that underscores how China’s research labs are snapping up market share in the global pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. The deal would give GSK the rights to develop a drug for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) called HRS-9821, as well as 11 of the preclinical programmes owned by Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3319793/gsk-signs-us125-bn-licence-deal-hengrui-china-rises-global-pharmaceuticals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3319793/gsk-signs-us125-bn-licence-deal-hengrui-china-rises-global-pharmaceuticals?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jul 2025 04:19:45 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Beijing’s move to simplify the process for approving oral proprietary Chinese medicine (PCM) from Hong Kong to be sold across the border has created new opportunities for firms in the city to exploit the mainland’s 450 billion yuan (US$62.8 billion) market, according to Hong Kong’s trade promotion body. The streamlined procedures have opened a more convenient channel for Hong Kong companies to expand into the mainland, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a report published on... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3319483/hong-kong-firms-eye-proprietary-chinese-medicine-opportunities-mainland-hktdc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3319483/hong-kong-firms-eye-proprietary-chinese-medicine-opportunities-mainland-hktdc?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jul 2025 12:30:15 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng AniTech, the developer of an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to detect early signs of depression, plans to launch its technology next year to tackle mental illness and suicide among the city’s population, co-founder and CEO Candy Lau Po-chun said. The company operates an electroencephalogram (EEG) brain electrical signal-based screening platform, which can be used to help prevent cases among youth and elderly people – two vulnerable groups in the city known for their high levels of... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3319214/anitech-offers-ai-kit-tackle-depression-and-suicides-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3319214/anitech-offers-ai-kit-tackle-depression-and-suicides-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jul 2025 01:47:05 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Beijing’s plan to publish China’s first list of innovative drugs eligible for coverage by commercial health insurance will draw keen interest from pharmaceutical companies, but is not a “magic wand”, as insurers lack sufficient incentives to provide the coverage, analysts said. The National Healthcare Security Administration, in charge of the state-run basic healthcare insurance scheme, said in a policy document on July 1 that it would publish the list this year, primarily including drugs that... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318950/chinas-plan-boost-drug-coverage-commercial-insurers-no-magic-wand-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318950/chinas-plan-boost-drug-coverage-commercial-insurers-no-magic-wand-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:30:09 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng A couple of health and medical device start-ups that got their start at the Chinese University of Hong Kong are seeking to enter the growing markets for elderly care and rehabilitation by selling their “wearable robotics” technologies. Established last year, RT HealthTech has developed several soft inflatable joint support products. It plans to start selling them in two months, targeting elderly people with weaker joints and those with minor injuries who want to keep exercising to maintain... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318712/cuhk-start-ups-eye-silver-economys-need-wearable-robotics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318712/cuhk-start-ups-eye-silver-economys-need-wearable-robotics?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 00:30:07 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Innovent Biologics, the first Chinese company to win regulatory approval to sell a GLP-1 drug for weight loss and diabetes, will leverage JD Health’s online distribution network as it seeks to grab a slice of a market that could be worth 40 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion) in a decade. The companies will collaborate on supply chain and sales channel development ahead of Innovent’s launch of mazdutide, as well as engage in a consumer education campaign. “Innovent and JD Health will join hands to... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318242/chinas-ozempic-pioneer-inks-deal-jd-health-online-distribution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318242/chinas-ozempic-pioneer-inks-deal-jd-health-online-distribution?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 06:30:07 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng China’s cost and efficiency advantages in drug development have been recognised at the world’s largest cancer research conference in the US, where companies were eagerly shopping for Chinese innovations, according to a new report. Nearly a third of the presentations at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting last month involved drug candidates from Chinese companies, American brokerage Jefferies said on Monday in its “Shopping in China’s Biotech Supermarket” report. Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318179/chinas-drug-prowess-show-global-event-drawing-industry-shoppers-jefferies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318179/chinas-drug-prowess-show-global-event-drawing-industry-shoppers-jefferies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 23:30:07 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng When Hong Kong office worker W.K. Chang began putting on weight as a teenager, her doctor said it was due to hormonal imbalances that slowed her metabolism. She reached a peak weight of 100kg about a year ago, but has since lost 25kg. The secret to losing a quarter of her weight? Chang, who asked not to be identified by her full name, was one of the city’s first 200 chronic obesity patients to receive access to a new weight-loss drug, originally developed for diabetes. At a cost of HK$2,700... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3317715/china-has-60-drugs-under-trial-rival-ozempic-others-us150-bn-weight-loss-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3317715/china-has-60-drugs-under-trial-rival-ozempic-others-us150-bn-weight-loss-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jul 2025 02:00:11 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Beijing Shougang Lanzatech Technology on Friday said it will again delay its Hong Kong initial public offering and did not provide a new timetable due to a dispute with a joint venture (JV) partner. The company, which built the world’s first large-scale industrial fermentation facility in 2018 that used exhaust gases from steel mills to make ethanol and microbial protein, was scheduled to announce the final subscription price for its shares on Tuesday. On Monday, it postponed it by a week. “As a... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3317896/shougang-lanzatech-delays-hong-kong-ipo-again-due-dispute-jv-partner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3317896/shougang-lanzatech-delays-hong-kong-ipo-again-due-dispute-jv-partner?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jul 2025 09:58:04 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Sales of weight-loss drugs in the West have soared in recent years, driven by the approval of a new class of more effective medication, the rapid growth in obese populations owing to poor diet and lack of exercise, and endorsements by celebrities and social media influencers. In China, over 60 late-stage drugs are undergoing clinical trials. In the coming years, these may compete with the products of incumbents such as Denmark’s Novo Nordisk and US-based Eli Lilly, Boston-based global... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3317624/svelteness-china-us150-billion-market-dozens-drug-producers-vying-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3317624/svelteness-china-us150-billion-market-dozens-drug-producers-vying-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 06:00:14 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Zijin Mining, one of China’s largest miners of gold and copper, struck a deal to buy a project in Kazakhstan for US$1.2 billion ahead of a planned listing of its international unit on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. In a statement to the Hong Kong bourse on Monday, the company said the deal would increase its gold reserves and output and help it become one of the world’s top three producers by 2028, up from sixth last year. The deal would also “significantly enhance the asset scale, profit level and... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3316335/zijin-buys-us12-billion-kazakhstan-gold-mine-ahead-overseas-units-hong-kong-listing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3316335/zijin-buys-us12-billion-kazakhstan-gold-mine-ahead-overseas-units-hong-kong-listing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 05:21:44 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng China’s halt on rare earth exports will fuel efforts to build alternative production capacity overseas despite technical and financial challenges, according to REalloys, an American firm that is involved in the industry. But the buildout would be costly and protracted due to technical challenges and could require subsidies and tariffs to stave off competition from Chinese products, which have dominated the global market for nearly three decades, analysts said. “China has done a remarkable job at... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3316153/chinas-rare-earth-curbs-spur-overseas-projects-reduce-reliance-says-us-developer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3316153/chinas-rare-earth-curbs-spur-overseas-projects-reduce-reliance-says-us-developer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jun 2025 01:30:10 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Hong Kong can become a regional trading hub for green marine fuel and help augment China’s influence on supply and pricing, according to an industry player. “Hong Kong’s advantages lie in its roles as an international free port, shipping and financial hub, and the government’s willingness to support energy transition and green finance,” said Leo Yang Xiaohu, president of CIMC Enric Holdings, which built the city’s first hydrogen refuelling station and related infrastructure in 2023. By boosting... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3315926/hong-kong-has-potential-become-green-marine-fuel-hub-beijings-backing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3315926/hong-kong-has-potential-become-green-marine-fuel-hub-beijings-backing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 03:32:48 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Upstart Chinese drug innovators are joining their foreign competitors in deploying more artificial intelligence (AI) tools to reduce the costs of discoveries in an effort to shorten the route to clinical trials and commercialisation. Genscript Biotech, based in Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province, is developing in-house AI tools - using its enzyme prediction database and an algorithm for altering the DNA sequence of a gene - to identify and optimise promising candidates based on protein... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3315788/chinas-drug-innovators-tap-ai-quicken-discovery-slash-costs-win-deals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3315788/chinas-drug-innovators-tap-ai-quicken-discovery-slash-costs-win-deals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jun 2025 23:30:08 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng MingMed Biotechnology is seeking a Hong Kong listing this year to raise funds to research and market a genetically engineered alternative to Botox in China. The drug developer, based in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, said it would set up an incubation centre in the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park in the third quarter. “Hong Kong has many good universities and research institutes, but it [does not have] a lot of innovative biotech firms,” said MingMed CEO Zhang Yan in an interview on... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3314750/mingmed-seeks-hong-kong-listing-fund-research-and-launch-botox-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3314750/mingmed-seeks-hong-kong-listing-fund-research-and-launch-botox-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jun 2025 01:30:15 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng Vincent Medical Holdings, a Hong Kong-based medical device maker, has doubled down on manufacturing in China by investing in automation and digitalisation, instead of moving operations abroad amid rising trade barriers in the US and Europe. The maker of disposable radiology products and respiratory devices is building a factory in Kaiping in the western part of the Greater Bay Area, CEO Raymond Choi Cheung-tai said in an interview. Trial operations could start before the end of the year, he... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3313774/hong-kong-medical-device-maker-build-china-plant-us-eu-raise-trade-barriers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3313774/hong-kong-medical-device-maker-build-china-plant-us-eu-raise-trade-barriers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jun 2025 02:35:09 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng The European Union’s (EU) tariffs on biodiesel and renewable diesel from China present Hong Kong with an opportunity to promote the use of low-carbon fuels, according to a business group, which called for more measures to support its adoption. A dearth of financial incentives and infrastructure has also resulted in limited use by the public and private sector to meet climate goals, according to the Business Environment Council (BEC). “The EU’s anti-dumping tariffs have forced Chinese producers... https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3313299/eu-biodiesel-tariffs-offer-hong-kong-chance-boost-adoption-green-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3313299/eu-biodiesel-tariffs-offer-hong-kong-chance-boost-adoption-green-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jun 2025 03:00:08 +0000