(Yicai) May 23 -- Harbour BioMed Holdings' shares soared after the Chinese biopharmaceutical firm said its subsidiary had penned an out-bound licensing deal for preclinical monoclonal antibodies with UK-Swedish drug giant AstraZeneca worth around USD600 million to speed up the development of targeted therapies.

HBM [HKG: 2142] soared 12.1 percent to HKD1.57 (20 US cents) a share as of 3.05 p.m. in Hong Kong today, after surging by as much as 19.3 percent in the morning trading session.

Nona Biosciences will receive an upfront payment of USD19 million, its Shanghai-based parent firm announced today. The unit is entitled to a USD10 million anticipated near-term milestone payment, a USD575 million development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, and tiered royalties based on net sales, it added. 

The deal marks an important milestone in the business development of HBM's platform Harbour Mice, the company noted, adding that it will fully use the opportunity to enhance its global cooperation network and maximize its technological platform's scientific and business value.

In April 2022, HBM penned a global out-license agreement with AstraZeneca for novel bispecific antibody CLDN18.2xCD3 bispecific antibody (HBM7022). The product is in the Phase I/II clinical trial phase for esophageal adenocarcinoma, pancreatic ductal cancer, and gastric cancer.

HBM received an upfront payment of USD25 million at the time, with a potential of up to USD325 million in additional pay based on development, regulatory, and commercial milestone achievements, and is eligible to get tiered royalties on net sales.

Editor: Martin Kadiev