FAST NEWS: Antengene Appoints New Chief Medical Officer

The latest: Biopharmaceutical company Antengene Corp. Ltd. (6996.HK) said on Wednesday Kevin Patrick Lynch has resigned as an executive director and chief medical officer (CMO) to retire, but will remain as a consultant to the company. It has appointed Zhang Xiaojing to take over the position.

Looking up: Zhang is an oncologist and hematologist with over 20 years of experience in oncology and the pharmaceutical industry, and over 10 years of experience in team management. She has worked for international pharmaceutical companies like Novartis’ (NVS.US) China section and Bayer (BAYN.DE) for over 12 years.

Take Note: Lynch’s retirement comes just one year after his nomination by the board to become an executive director, which may cause some investor suspicion on the circumstances of his departure.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Shanghai, Antengene develops innovative anti-tumor drugs and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in November 2020. The company didn’t record any revenue through the end of last year, with R&D costs reaching 980 million yuan ($140 million) over the past four years. In May this year, its first commercialized product, Xpovio, was launched in China and brought in 54 million yuan ($7.7 million) in just over a month, representing a major breakthrough that showed up in its latest interim results.

Market Reaction: Antengene shares jumped on Thursday to close up 5.5% at HK$4.60 by the midday break. It now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by Jony Ho

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