On December 15, Apichope Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (300723), a high-flying biotech stock that had surged over 400% this year, saw its shares crash with a rare 20% limit-down drop. Post-market data revealed three institutional investors collectively dumped over 70 million yuan worth of shares, accounting for more than 10% of the day's trading volume, alongside another sell-off of 30+ million yuan by a brokerage.
The mass exodus followed Apichope's sudden disclosure that its innovative drug subsidiary Arthrosi—whose gout treatment candidate AR882 (deuterated benzbromarone) had fueled the stock's rally—is negotiating a full acquisition. The deal would include Apichope's 13.45% stake in Arthrosi.
In damage control, Apichope announced a 100-200 million yuan share buyback plan late December 15. However, this represents less than 1% of its 17 billion yuan market cap, unlikely to significantly impact the stock.
**Subsidiary Sale Shocks Market** The December 14 filing disclosed that Sobi US offered $950 million upfront (≈6.713 billion yuan) plus up to $550 million (≈3.887 billion yuan) in milestone payments to acquire Arthrosi. Apichope holds its stake via wholly-owned Reichstein Biotech (HK), which will exit completely post-transaction.
Arthrosi focuses on metabolic disease drugs, particularly AR882 for gout, currently in global Phase III trials. Sobi US is the American arm of Swedish biopharma SOBI, listed on Stockholm's exchange since 2013.
Despite Apichope retaining AR882's Greater China rights and global manufacturing priority, investors reacted violently—20,000 shareholders were blindsided by the sale after months of bullish AR882 updates.
**From Euphoria to Reality Check** Between February and July, Apichope's stock rocketed from 16 yuan to 81 yuan (pre-split adjusted) on AR882 hype, even as fundamentals deteriorated. The company meticulously stoked expectations through announcements and WeChat posts detailing AR882's progress:
- August 2024: FDA Fast Track designation for gout tophi treatment - December 2024: 50% enrollment in global Phase III REDUCE 2 trial - March 2025: First Chinese patient dosed in local Phase III - June 2025: AR882 data accepted at EULAR conference - July-August 2025: Over 50% enrollment in REDUCE 1 and China Phase III
However, the rally stalled near 80 yuan. An August 21 earnings bomb (H1 massive loss) triggered a 5% drop despite concurrent AR882 trial completion news. By Q3, losses widened to 179 million yuan (non-GAAP), and another AR882 data release at ACR 2025 failed to prevent a 4.5% decline.
The stock had already shed 40% from its peak to 46 yuan by December 12 before the subsidiary sale triggered the 20% crash to 37.32 yuan—a more than 50% plunge from its high. The question now: How much further will AR882's fate drag down Apichope?
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