By Jason Chau


Shares of Pharmaron Beijing jumped, after the Chinese drugmaker announced a partnership with Eli Lilly to manufacture a diabetes and weight-loss drug.

The stock surged more than 13% in morning trading Thursday before paring gains to close 8.4% higher, its largest single-day rise since September.

Its Shenzhen-listed shares surged as much as 9.1% before ending 4.4% higher.

The gains came after Pharmaron said Wednesday that it expects to receive a $200 million investment from the U.S. pharmaceutical company to build the technical capabilities to manufacture orforglipron. Eli Lilly is seeking regulatory approval for the oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist drug in more than 40 countries, making it the first such drug to be submitted for regulatory approval.

The partnership with Eli Lilly is a key milestone for Pharmaron's contract development and manufacturing organization business, the Beijing-based company said.

Both companies also agreed to further expand the scale of their collaboration as the partnership progresses.

Late last year, Eli Lilly's China arm submitted a marketing application to China's National Medical Products Administration seeking approval for orforglipron's use in treating Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Around 148 million people in China are affected by Type 2 diabetes, while more than 500 million people are considered overweight or obese, Eli Lilly said Wednesday.

Eli Lilly's pledged investment in Pharmaron is part of its $3 billion push to boost its supply chain capacity in China over the next decade.

Since 2024, the pharmaceutical giant has expanded its manufacturing plant in Suzhou and launched innovation incubators in Beijing and Shanghai. It also struck a partnership deal with Innovent Biologics last month to develop treatments targeting cancer and immune system diseases.

"Partnerships with local companies such as Pharmaron Beijing Co. are key to strengthening Lilly's commitment to patients in China," said Eli Lilly Executive Vice President Edgardo Hernandez.

The U.S. company has nearly $6 billion in investments in China, it said.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-12-26 0641ET