FAST NEWS: Simcere’s Covid drug trial shows promising results

The latest: Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. (2096.HK) announced Thursday that newly published results of a Phase 2/3 clinical study for its innovative drug, Xiannuoxin, for the treatment of adult patients with mild to moderate Covid, demonstrated the drug shortened the median time to sustained resolution of 11 targeted symptoms, shortened the duration of the disease, and reduced the viral load rapidly and substantially.

Looking up: The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which is currently one of the world’s most popular and widely read general medical journals. That should help to raise Xiannuoxin’s global profile.

Take Note: Demand for Covid drugs has dropped significantly with the fading of the pandemic, meaning demand for Xiannuoxin will also be much lower than it would have been at the height of the pandemic.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 1995, Simcere develops, makes and sells oncology and cardiovascular drugs. The company was listed in the U.S. in 2007, but delisted in 2013, before re-listing in Hong Kong in 2020. It had six drugs on the market at the end of last June and more than 60 others in its pipeline. Among them, Xiannuoxin was conditionally approved for sale in China in January last year on the basis of the Phase 2/3 trial data that was available then but is just now being published in the New England Journal of Medicine. But the drug lacked high expectations after missing the peak of Covid infections and vying for attention with a growing number of rival products.

Market Reaction: Simcere’s shares fell on Friday, closing down 2.6% at HK$5.93 by the midday break. The stock now trades near the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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