FAST NEWS: CStone licenses PD-1 cancer drug to 3SBio for China

The latest: CStone Pharmaceuticals (2616.HK) announced Wednesday that it has exclusively licensed Shenyang Sunshine Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of 3SBio Inc. (1530.HK), to develop, register, manufacture and commercialize its anti-PD-1 antibody Nofazinlimab in Mainland China.

Looking up: CStone will receive an upfront payment of 60 million yuan ($8.2 million), development and registration milestone payments of up to 100 million yuan, and additional payments for future sales-based milestones and tiered sales royalties

Take Note: The drug, used to treat advanced hepatocellular cancer, is still in phase 3 clinical trials, with result from the main study expected to be announced in next year’s first quarter.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2015 and listed in Hong Kong in 2019, CStone has four drugs on the market to treat non-small cell lung cancer, gastrointestinal tumors and acute myeloid leukemia. It began earning revenue from those drugs in 2021. Despite the company’s rapidly rising revenues, it has yet to earn a profit. Its shares are down nearly 90% from their 2021 all-time high.

Market Reaction: CStone’s shares rose on Thursday, closing up 0.5% at HK$2.13 by the midday break. The stock now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

Have a great investment idea but don’t know how to spread the word? We can help! Contact us for more details.

To subscribe to Bamboo Works weekly free newsletter, click here