FAST NEWS: CSPC Pharma’s urticaria drug approved in China

The Latest: CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. (1093.HK) announced on Tuesday that its chronic spontaneous urticaria treatment, Omalizumab for Injection, has been approved for sale in China by the country’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

Looking Up: The company said the approval will further enrich its product portfolio for autoimmune diseases, and it is also working on approval for another indication for the drug.

Take Note: Following the approval, the company will need to ramp up spending to promote and commercialize the product, driving up its overall costs.

Digging Deeper: CSPC develops, produces and sells its own innovative drugs. Its growth has been sluggish over the past three years due to a slowdown for its finished drug business. In the first half of this year, its revenue rose just 1.3% to 16.3 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), while its net profit rose by a similar 2% to 3.2 billion yuan. In September, the company appointed Liu Yongjun, who has extensive experience in the commercialization of innovative drugs and connections in the multinational pharmaceutical community, as president of global R&D. Analysts believe the move will help accelerate the commercialization of CSPC’s products.

Market Reaction: CSPC’s shares fell on Wednesday, closing down 6.1% at HK$6.61 by the midday break. The stock now trades in the middle of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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