Ascletis Pharma Shares Gain After Covid-19 Drug Approved for Clinical Trial

By Clarence Leong

Shares of Ascletis Pharma Inc. rose sharply in Hong Kong, after the Chinese drugmaker said it received regulatory approval for a clinical trial of its Covid-19 drug candidate.
Hangzhou-based Ascletis Pharma’s stock advanced 8.1% to 3.46 Hong Kong dollars (US$0.44) on Thursday, taking its year-to-date gains to 5.2%.

China’s National Medical Products Administration, the country’s top drug regulator, approved the investigational new drug application for the company’s self-developed drug, ASC11, Ascletis said in a filing late Wednesday.
Ascletis expects the first phase of the clinical trial to be completed in the first quarter of next year, with the aim of identifying “a safe and efficacious dose for the pivotal Phase 2/3 in Covid-19 patients,” it said.
In earlier studies, ASC11 showed significantly higher potency against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, than other similar drug candidates, Ascletis said.
Other Chinese drugmakers also rose. CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. climbed 0.9% after it said Wednesday that it obtained clinical-trial approval for a Covid-19 drug candidate. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. advanced 5.7% and Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd. was 2.0% higher.
The city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index added 1.8%.
Write to Clarence Leong at [email protected]