(Yicai) Aug. 11 -- Shares of Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals surged by the exchange-imposed daily trading limit after the Chinese drugmaker sold the rights to its weight loss drug in development in Europe to Italian peer Menarini Group for up to EUR726 million (USD838.6 million).

Gan & Lee [SHA: 603087] closed up 10 percent at CNY74.47 (USD11.03) per share in Shanghai today.

Menarini has acquired the rights to commercialize Bofenglutide for the overweight and obesity indications in the 27 European Union member nations, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and seven Balkan countries and regions, Gan & Lee announced yesterday. The Beijing-based firm will retain the rights for other indications in the above 39 countries and regions.

Bofenglutide (GZR18) injection is a Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist administered every two weeks, independently developed by Gan & Lee. It can enhance patients’ feelings of fullness, suppress appetite, reduce food intake, and achieve the goal of reducing body weight.

Menarini will pay a non-refundable down payment of EUR62 million (USD71.6 million), milestone payments of up to EUR664 million at key stages of research and development, commercialization, and sales, and a tiered royalty fee of up to a double-digit percentage of the drug’s annual net sales in its licensed region after it hits the market, Gan & Lee noted.

The partnership with Menarini will help Gan & Lee enhance its brand awareness and academic influence in Europe, strengthen its international competitiveness in the GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment market, and have a positive impact on its business performance in this and the coming years, the firm added.

Clinical research data show that Bofenglutide can effectively reduce weight and blood sugar and comprehensively improve other metabolic-related indicators. Its safety and tolerability features are consistent with other GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs.

After being released to the market, Bofenglutide is expected to become the world’s first GLP-1 receptor agonist biweekly formulation to enrich the medication choices for obese patients worldwide and improve the accessibility of high-quality drugs, Gan & Lee said.

Bofenglutide was used on the first subject of the Phase III clinical trials in China in December 2024 and on the first subject of the first Phase II clinical trials in the United States in March 2025.

The drug was also successfully used on the first subject of Phase III clinical trials for a new indication -- moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adult obese patients -- in China in April this year. Clinical research on obesity, overweight, obesity with OSA, and Type-2 diabetes is also being actively promoted, according to Gan & Lee.

Editor: Futura Costaglione