以和铂医药为例，该公司与阿斯利康达成重大战略合作，阿斯利康将以每股1.38美元（约10.74港元）认购和铂医药9.15%股份，总金额约1.05亿美元。认购价较签约前收市价溢价37.2%，所得资金将用于研发、营运及一般营运资金需求。双方同时签署了全球战略合作协议，共同研发针对免疫性疾病、肿瘤等多种疾病的新一代多特异性抗体。① Does the Global Strategy imply that "technology platform premiums + international certifications" are replacing traditional PE valuation methods as the core logic for valuing innovative drug companies? ② In cases like JACOBIO-B achieving a 56.6% reduction in annual losses through its core product Galeterone, can it be inferred that Chinese innovative drug companies have broken through the industry's curse of "burning money on R&D - continuous losses"?
According to the financial report on March 24 (Editor: Hu Jiarong), benefiting from bullish market sentiments, most pharmaceutical stocks rose today. As of the time of publication, CANBRIDGE-B (01228.HK), HEYI-B (02256.HK), JACOBIO-B (01167.HK), and HBM HOLDINGS-B (02142.HK) rose by 9.22%, 8.98%, 7.94%, and 6.13% respectively.
Note: Performance of pharmaceutical stocks.
Taking HBM HOLDINGS as an example, the company has reached a major strategic cooperation with AstraZeneca, where AstraZeneca will subscribe to 9.15% of HBM HOLDINGS' shares at a price of $1.38 per share (approximately HKD 10.74), totaling about $0.105 billion. The subscription price represents a 37.2% premium over the closing price before the contract. The funds raised will be used for R&D, operations, and general working capital needs. Both parties also signed a Global Strategy cooperation agreement to jointly develop a new generation of bispecific antibodies targeting various diseases, including immune diseases and tumors.
According to the cooperation agreement, AstraZeneca will receive an option to license two preclinical immuno-oncology projects. HBM HOLDINGS will receive a $0.175 billion upfront payment, short-term milestone payments, and option fees, as well as up to $4.4 billion in development and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered royalties based on net sales. Both parties will jointly establish an innovation center in Peking, with a collaboration period of five years, extendable for another five years.
Buoyed by this news, HBM HOLDINGS surged more than 20% early in the trading session.
Note: The trend of HBM HOLDINGS.
According to public information, HBM HOLDINGS is a global innovative drug company in the clinical development stage, benchmarking against antibody development platforms like Teneobio. Tianfeng points out that the company relies on its unique Harbour Mice platform to continuously produce high-potential molecules and has established extensive and frequent cooperative relationships with major global pharmaceutical firms and innovative drug companies, with both the number and value of business development ranking among the top in the industry.
JACOBIO-B recently announced last year's performance.
The Earnings Reports disclosed by another Innovative Drugs company, JACOBIO-B, today show that the company achieved an annual revenue of 0.156 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 145.2%; the annual loss narrowed to 0.156 billion yuan, an improvement of 56.6% compared to last year's loss of 0.359 billion yuan.
The growth in performance is mainly attributed to the research and development progress of its core product, the KRAS G12C inhibitor, adagrasib, and the commercial collaboration with Shanghai Allist Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. Currently, the new drug application for adagrasib for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer has been accepted by the National Medical Products Administration, and it is expected to be approved in the first half of 2025, which will become the company's first commercial product.
The valuation of Innovative Drugs may undergo a transformation.
As over 20 Innovative Drugs companies released bullish profit forecasts and several leading companies achieved reduced losses or turned profitable, China's Innovative Drugs Industry is facing a critical turning point for value reassessment.
Taking BEIGENE as an example, its 2024 revenue grew by 56.2% year-on-year to 27.214 billion yuan, and the adjusted operating profit turned positive for the first time at 0.528 billion yuan, marking that leading companies have crossed the breakeven point.
At the same time, the overseas expansion capability of pharmaceutical companies cannot be underestimated. In 2024, the total value of overseas licensing trades by Chinese Innovative Drugs companies reached 63.5 billion USD, and at the beginning of 2025, INNOVENT BIO reached a licensing agreement for an ADC drug with Roche worth 1 billion USD, with an upfront payment of 80 million USD.
Overseas trades not only bring cash flow but also serve as a testament to the international competitiveness of technology platforms. For example, HBM HOLDINGS-B, mentioned above, relies on the Harbour Mice fully human antibody platform, and reached a milestone agreement worth 4.4 billion USD with AstraZeneca, with the technology premium driving the market cap recovery.
