(Yicai Global) Aug. 24 -- Shares in Covid-19 vaccine maker Wuxi Biologics rose by over 9 percent in trading today, boosted by a first-half earnings report yesterday that revealed a 163 percent rise in net profit to CNY1.8 billion (USD277.8 million) thanks to various projects entering the commercialization stage.

The shares [HKG:2269] closed up 7.7 percent at HKD121.7 (USD15.6) today.

Wuxi Biologics and its subsidiaries earned CNY4.4 billion in revenue in the first half, up 126.7 percent on the year, per the earnings report from the Wuxi-based innovative drug developer.

2021 has been the first year of commercial production for Wuxi Biologics, with four of its products reaching the market as of June 30, and 32 undergoing phase III clinical trials. The revenues from late-phase trials and commercial production rose by 366 percent on the year, with revenues from commercial production at CNY890 million (USD137.4 million). More projects will begin commercial production in the second half and beyond, the company forecast.

There has been strong performance from the company’s Covid-19 biological drugs and vaccines. By the end of the first half, the contracts related to Covid-19 projects were worth about USD1.3 billion.

As of the end of June, the orders contracted but not yet fulfilled were worth USD12.5 billion, an annual increase of 31.7 percent, the report showed, with this healthy backlog set to continue driving future revenue growth.

Editor: Tom Litting