(Bloomberg) -- Chinese drug maker Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd. soared in Hong Kong after saying its pill was highly effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization or deaths related to Covid-19, raising the prospect of a first homegrown antiviral treatment.
Shares were up 141% as of 11:06 a.m. local time after earlier surging as much as 229%, the biggest jump since the company's Hong Kong listing in mid-2020. The stock was also the best performer on the the Hang Seng Composite Index, which slid 1.6%.
The drug, proxalutamide, cut the risk of hospitalization or deaths by 50% to 100% as compared to a controlled group, depending on the days of treatment, Suzhou-based Kintor said in an exchange statement, citing data from its latest U.S. clinical trial. Effectiveness was better for high-risk groups, the firm added, reducing hospitalization and deaths by 100% among those aged 50 or above with obesity.
Read: China Drugmaker's 580% Surge Has Analysts Wanting More
If results hold, the drug would become the first Covid-19 antiviral oral drug developed by a Chinese firm, adding to antiviral treatments available from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co Inc. China approved Pfizer's Paxlovid in February and has been using it to treat patients in the current outbreak as daily cases exceed 20,000 this week amid omicron's spread in Shanghai.
Kintor shares surged more than 600% between January and August last year, as traders bet on a potential commercial windfall of an oral Covid treatmen. Shares then plunged in the fourth quarter due to failed clinical tests and the launch of Covid pills by overseas competitors.
Read: Yiling Pharma Jumps by Limit as Covid Surge Spurs Demand
The company's trading volume in the first hour of Wednesday trading is more than 400% of its 3-month full-day average. Its current price is 22% higher than the average target of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
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