Hong Kong Stocks Surge: Innovative Drug Sector Rallies on Regulatory Report and New Foreign Investment Policies

Shares in the innovative drug sector experienced a broad-based rally today.

At the time of writing, SSY GROUP (02005) was up 6.93% at HK$2.16, KEYMED BIO-B (02162) gained 4.14% to HK$59.05, HENGRUI PHARMA (01276) rose 3.55% to HK$56.9, AKESO (09926) increased by 2.23% to HK$84.8, and INNOVENT BIO (01801) advanced 1.86% to HK$76.75.

The positive momentum follows a recent regulatory report and new policy announcements.

On June 22, the National Medical Products Administration released its 2025 annual report on the progress of new drug registration clinical trials in China.

The report indicated that the total number of clinical trials in the country exceeded 5,000 for the first time, reaching a new historical high.

The report covers two main categories: new drug clinical trials and bioequivalence trials.

Among these, new drug clinical trials accounted for 2,997 projects, representing 57.5% of the total and marking an 18% year-on-year increase.

Bioequivalence trials numbered 2,218 projects, making up the remaining 42.5%.

In a separate development, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued 15 new measures aimed at stabilizing foreign investment.

These policies propose support for foreign capital to participate in the high-quality development of industries, including pharmaceuticals.

Authorities will expedite research and the introduction of detailed implementation rules for segmented drug production.

This move aims to facilitate overseas drug marketing authorization holders in conducting cross-border segmented production of biological products and chemical drugs.

Efforts will also be accelerated to study and approve the further expansion of pilot zones for opening up in areas like biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals.

The new measures also support insurance companies in including more innovative drugs and medical devices within commercial insurance coverage.

This is intended to continuously encourage high-quality innovative drugs and devices to enter the Chinese market.

Additionally, an industry collaboration platform will be established to ease the entry of drugs produced by foreign-invested enterprises into retail pharmaceutical channels.