Innovent Biologics Shares Surge After Swing to Profitability

By Jason Chau

Shares of Innovent Biologics surged Friday after the Chinese drugmaker reported its first full year of profitability.

Innovent's stock in Hong Kong rose as much as 8.4% before pulling back slightly. Shares closed 7.7% higher, notching the largest single-day gain in almost half a year.

That came after the company said that its revenue rose 38% to top 10 billion yuan, equivalent to $1.45 billion, a milestone it said marked a new "era of profitability."

Innovent, which has tie-ups with several pharma majors, including a partnership with Eli Lilly that could generate up to $8.5 billion in milestone payments, attributed the revenue growth to its cardiovascular and metabolism products, including its flagship weight loss drug Mazdutide.

The company swung to net profit of 813.6 million yuan from a loss of 94.6 million yuan the previous year.

According to Innovent, total deal value from its global collaborations reached over $22 billion in 2025, representing over 10% of China's innovative pharma outbound licensing value.

While the results were slightly lower than market expectations, analysts remain bullish on the drugmaker's outlook.

"We anticipate continued topline growth and progressive earnings improvement in 2026," Nomura analyst Jialin Zhang said in a note.

Citi analysts expect a pipeline of early-stage drug candidates, including several next-generation obesity and anti-cancer treatments, to underpin long-term growth.

Innovent, based in Jiangsu province, is among China's most prominent pharmaceutical firms and one of the largest by market capitalization.

The company's stock gains came amid a broader rally in Chinese healthcare stocks Friday. The Hang Seng biotech index, a key industry benchmark, climbed 5.2%.

Write to Jason Chau at jason.chau@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 27, 2026 05:57 ET (09:57 GMT)