(Bloomberg) -- Shares of state-owned China Meheco Co. shot up more than 50% in the past week amid speculation that the Beijing-based drug maker will be the local partner for Pfizer Inc.'s Covid-19 treatment pill.
China conditionally approved Pfizer's Paxlovid last month, making it the first foreign pharmaceutical product that Beijing has endorsed for Covid-19. China Meheco is the only drug company that's overseen by the central government, leading investors to bet that it will be the local distributor instead of a private company.
Representatives from Meheco and Pfizer could not immediately be reached for comment.
The stock gained as much as 7% early Tuesday, having rallied by the 10% daily limit for four consecutive days. That's an eye-watering rise for the stock which slumped to the lowest since 2014 just last month.
In a Monday statement to the stock exchange, the company refrained from mentioning Pfizer's name, and instead warned of uncertainties of the deal with “a certain multinational drug maker”. It said contribution to earnings would be small, and even if the deal goes smoothly, “the usage and sales of the drug may depend on factors such as virus control situation.”
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