(Yicai Global) Jan. 16 -- Chinese biopharmaceutical company Wuxi Biologics will buy a biologic medicine plant in Leverkusen, Germany from Bayer to expand its output and meet global customer demand, Wuxi Biologics said in a statement today.

The company's shares [HKG:2269] jumped by 3.7 percent to HKD103.60 (USD13.30) after opening on the news, then rose steadily in the afternoon, up 4.4 percent to HKD104.30 (USD13.42) in mid-session before flat-lining until press time.

Wuxi Biologics' local unit Wuxi Biologics Germany will buy the current good manufacturing practices-compliant packaging facility from Bayer, according to the agreement. The two also penned long-term leasing and sub-leasing agreements, Wuxi Biologics said in its statement.

The Jiangsu province-based company made no mention of the financial details of the above transaction or the names of the biopharmaceutical plant's main products in the statement. It will settle the price in cash after a due diligence review, which will be completed in the coming months, it said.

Wuxi Biologics is a drug research and development service provider of end-to-end research and development services for global biopharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies to discover, develop and produce new biologic drugs. It also consummates the entire process from conception to commercial production. The company owns or is planning to build biopharma production bases in China, Ireland, Singapore and the US, it said on its site.

Good manufacturing practices are those that conform to the guidelines of regulators that control the authorization and licensing of the production and sale of food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, health supplements and medical devices. The 'current' merely acknowledges that the view of which practices are 'good' changes from time to time.

Editor: Ben Armour