On Friday (28th), Hong Kong stocks rose across all three major indices, with pharmaceutical stocks showing particular strength. Legend Biotech surged over 23%, Zai Lab-SB (HK:9688) increased by over 15%, Rongchang Biotech (HK:9995) rose more than 11%, and Ascentage Pharma-B (HK:6855) climbed over 9%. Recently, Hong Kong pharmaceutical companies have entered the annual report season, with outstanding overall performance boosting stock prices.
3SBio's net profit for 2024 reached 2.09 billion yuan, an increase of 34.9% year-on-year. Innovent Biologics achieved its first profit, netting about 332 million yuan, successfully turning losses into gains. Ascentage Pharma's revenue reached 981 million yuan, a year-on-year growth of 342%. Zai Lab's full-year revenue for 2024 was $399 million, with net product revenue increasing by $130.9 million, totaling $397.6 million.
Additionally, the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting will be held from April 25 to 30 in Chicago, USA. Innovent Biologics, CStone Pharmaceuticals, and Ascentage Pharma will announce several new clinical data and research results at the conference, further attracting market attention.
A report by Guotai Junan Securities pointed out that the current innovative drug industry is showing a positive trend with continuous marginal improvements. It is expected that the 2025 healthcare negotiation period will be advanced, the Class B catalogue will be released within the year, and the price reduction of biosimilar drug procurement is expected to be moderate. Investors can focus on upcoming academic conferences and be optimistic about the prospects of leading innovative drug companies.
