(Yicai Global) Jan. 19 -- Shares in Chongqing Porton Pharma Solutions surged as much as 8.5 percent today after the Chinese contract drug developer said that it will invest CNY2.5 billion (USD369 million) to build a research, development and production facility to meet surging demand for innovative drug development.

Porton Pharma’s share price [SHE:300363] closed up 6.4 percent at CNY48.98 (USD7.23) today. Earlier in the day it hit CNY49.96.

The project will be located in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone in Zhangjiagang, eastern Jiangsu province, which is a major port city along the Yangtze River and part of the Yangtze River Delta Region, an economic hub that encompasses Shanghai and the surrounding region, the firm said yesterday.

Porton Pharma has bought a 16.5-hectare plot from the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone management committee, the Chongqing, southwestern China-based company said. No further details about the project nor the construction schedule were given.

The facility will allow Porton Pharma to leverage the regional advantages in the Yangtze River Delta so as to promote the integrated development of the company’s contract drug development and manufacturing business which will help improve the firm’s future performance, it said.

Business has been booming for Porton Pharma, which provides global and Chinese pharma giants with customized R&D and manufacturing services from early-stage clinical research to the launch phase. The company has clients in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as more than 100 customers in China, executives said at a Q&A last December.

Lucrative orders from foreign clients boosted Proton's performance last year. The firm expects net profit to increase by between 260 percent and 310 percent last year from the year before and revenue to more than double, it said in its annual results forecast released last week.

Editor: Kim Taylor