(Yicai) May 6 -- Shares of Kexing Biopharm advanced after the Chinese drugmaker said that its generic medicine designed to treat pancreatic and lung cancer made progress in getting approved to be sold in Europe.

Kexing [SHA: 688136] closed 7.9 percent higher at CNY18.28 (USD2.60) in Shanghai today.

A production line to make albumin-bound paclitaxel was given the European Union’s good manufacturing practice certification by the Norwegian Medical Products Agency, the Jinan-based firm announced yesterday. The product still needs to gain a marketing authorization to be sold in the EU.

Albumin-bound paclitaxel, an injectable medicine, has the advantages of low side effects and good efficacy, per Kexing. This is the mainstream treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer recommended by the European Society for Medical Oncology, but the EU only has two options on the market at the moment, namely Bristol-Myers Squibb’s product and one generic drug, the firm added.

Over the past five years, sales of albumin-bound paclitaxel have been rising gradually in Europe due to an increase in cancer cases. Kexing has signed agreements with partners in 35 countries in Europe and South America to market the new product to expand its layout, it added.

Editor: Emmi Laine