Shares in ReNeuron, a company working on stem-cell treatments for eye disease and strokes that is one-third owned by veteran investor Neil Woodford, rose more than 30 per cent on Tuesday, after it announced a licensing deal for its products to be developed and commercialised in China.
Fosun Pharma, a Chinese life sciences company, will licence the rights to two cell therapy programmes in a deal that will potentially net the UK-based biotech £80m, plus royalty payments.
Yifang Wu, President of Fosun Pharma, said ReNeuron’s licensed products and stem cell expertise would “bring a lot of strategic synergies with our current business, addressing huge unmet needs in the Chinese market”.