(Yicai Global) Jan. 5 -- Shares in Humanwell Healthcare bucked the stock markets’ downward trend today, advancing as much as 5.8 percent, after the Chinese analgesics maker said it will sell its holdings in US pharmaceutical products maker RiteDose for USD174 million.

Humanwell’s share price [SHA:600079] closed up 4.06 percent at CNY23.59 (USD4). Earlier in the day it had hit CNY23.99. The major Chinese stock market indices fell sharply today as investors stayed cautious.

Danish investment fund Novo Nordisk Foundation is buying a 100 percent stake in RiteDose from Humanwell and other stakeholders for USD915 million, the Wuhan, central Hubei province-based company said yesterday. The companies paid USD605 million for the leading manufacturer of sterile pharmaceutical products in September 2017.

Humanwell, which holds a 24.6 percent stake in Delaware-based RiteDose, is expecting to make a profit of CNY540 million (USD85 million) from the sale, once expenses and other costs are deducted, it said. The sale is in line with Humanwell’s strategy to withdraw from segments with weak competitive advantages or business synergies, it added.

Around 70 percent of RiteDose's business is contract research and the rest is the production and sale of its own drugs. At the time, Humanwell said it was buying into RiteDose to gain access to the company’s drug manufacturing technology and to better leverage US advantages in the global market, technology and resources.

Editor: Kim Taylor