(Yicai Global) Dec. 22 -- China’s Wuxi Biologics plans to acquire a drug substance facility from German drugmaker Bayer to enlarge its supply of Covid-19 vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals. Shares of Wuxi Biologics and its parent company rose.

 

Wuxi Biologics will pay EUR150 million (USD183.5 million) for the 30,000 square-meter plant in Wuppertal in northwestern Germany, according to a press release the Jiangsu province-based firm posted to its website yesterday.
 

Shares of Wuxi Biologics [HKG: 2269] closed 1.7 percent higher today at HKD92.80 (USD11.89) each, after earlier gaining as much as 3.7 percent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.7 percent.

 

The facility, along with a drug product production center in the neighboring city of Leverkusen that Wuxi Biologics acquired in April, are expected to be ready for drug substance and drug product manufacturing by next year, the statement added.

Shares of parent company Wuxi Apptec [SHA: 603259] rose as much as 4.2 percent before closing 1 percent up at CNY124.70 (USD19.05). The Shanghai Composite Index lost almost 1.9 percent.

Editor: Ben Armour, Xiao Yi