(Yicai) Sept. 27 -- Shares in Apeloa Pharmaceutical surged as much as 9.3 percent today after the Chinese active pharmaceutical ingredient supplier said that it will work with synthetic biological startup Biocre Biotechnology to develop high-value biosynthetic products, which are new biological parts made through the application of engineering principles.

Apeloa’s share price [SHE:000739] closed up 7.1 percent at CNY15.78 (USD2.25) today. Earlier in the day it hit CNY16.10.

Apeloa is linking arms with Biocre to develop and produce a number of synthetic biological products, including functional proteins, peptides, APIs and medical cosmetics, the Dongyang-based company said yesterday, citing the strategic co-operation framework agreement signed by the two parties.

The tie-up will make full use of Apeloa’s mature pharmaceutical production facilities and market operation capabilities. Specific forms of cooperation include contract research organization and contract development and manufacturing organization, it added.

Biocre operates a protein precision design and Smart Evolution machine learning algorithm platform and uses cutting-edge technologies such as AI algorithms, gene editing, RNA design, and biosynthesis to develop a variety of high-value synthetic biological products. In April, the Shenzhen-based firm raised tens of millions of Chinese yuan, equivalent to millions of US dollars, in a Series A financing round.

Synthetic biology is an emerging branch of biological science that only appeared in the last 20 years and is being hailed as part of the third biotechnology revolution on a par with the discovery of the DNA double helix structure and genome technology. Starting from basic biological structures, it designs synthetic biological products with special functions.

Editor: Kim Taylor