Hengrui Mid-Year Report Shows Dual Growth Surge: Innovative Drugs at 60%, Overseas Deals Reach $12 Billion

China’s leading innovative-drug company, Hengrui Medicine, once again confirmed its industry leadership with a solid half-year financial report.

On August 21, 2025, Hengrui released its 2025 Half-Year Report on its official website. By market close that day, its stock price closed at ￥63.99, with a total market capitalization of ￥424.7 billion. Both its A-shares and H-shares rose alongside its results: A-shares have increased 39.41% year-to-date, and the Hong Kong listing—less than three months since IPO—has risen 35.22%, reaching a maximum of ￥87.8 per share.

Revenue Performance Encouraging, Innovation Drives Growth

All four key performance metrics achieved double-digit growth, demonstrating strong fundamentals and a leading role among domestic pharmaceutical companies.

By quarter, Q2 2025 revenue reached ￥8.556 billion (+12.53% YoY, +18.73% QoQ), with net profit attributable to shareholders of ￥2.576 billion (+24.88% YoY, +37.46% QoQ), maintaining stable growth.

In 1H 2025, sales and licensing revenue from innovative drugs totaled ￥9.561 billion, representing 60.66% of total revenue, of which sales revenue was ￥7.570 billion. Revenue growth in the innovative drug business continued rapidly, supporting overall performance. Reimbursement-listed innovative drugs such as Riviarumin, Darsil, Henggrelizine have been widely validated in clinical practice, with continued recognition from physicians and patients. Earlier-launched drugs such as Arisib, Remazolam, Pirrotenib, Fluzoparib continue to contribute to sales as real-world evidence and new indications accumulate.

Pipeline Breadth and Depth

Hengrui invested a total of ￥3.871 billion in R&D in 1H 2025, including ￥3.228 billion expensed R&D, accounting for 20.48% of revenue. The company currently runs over 400 domestic and international clinical trials for 100+ innovative products, with ADC and AI drug discovery platforms maturing steadily.

Hengrui is firmly pursuing an innovation-driven transformation, with high R&D intensity and a pipeline notable for both depth and breadth. During the reporting period, six Category-1 new drugs were successfully launched, including the world’s first ultra-long-acting PCSK9 monoclonal antibody, Rucacizumab, and the first domestic JAK1 inhibitor. These new drugs cover cardiovascular, autoimmune, and oncology therapeutic areas, with significant market potential and expected incremental contribution to performance.

Global Expansion Reaches New Heights

Hengrui treats external licensing of innovative drugs as routine business, now an important revenue component. During the reporting period, Hengrui received upfront payments of US$200 million from Merck (MSD) and US$75 million from IDEAYA, recognized as revenue, further boosting operating results.

In 2025, Hengrui completed several major deals, including a partnership on an oral GnRH receptor antagonist with Merck KGaA (€15 million upfront) and an Lp(a) inhibitor deal with MSD (US$200 million upfront plus up to US$1.77 billion in milestones and royalties).

On July 28, 2025, Hengrui signed an agreement with GSK granting global exclusive rights (excluding China) for HRS-9821 (a PDE3/4 inhibitor) and exclusive options for up to 11 other projects. GSK will pay US$500 million upfront, with potential total milestone and royalty payments reaching US$12 billion, setting a new record for Chinese innovative drugs going global. HRS-9821, currently in clinical development for COPD, has shown enhanced bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory effects and has potential for dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation. Merck acquired Verona for US$10 billion in July 2025, emphasizing PDE3/4 projects, highlighting HRS-9821’s value and promising future performance.

Conclusion

Overall, Hengrui delivered a strong half-year performance. The company reiterated that it will continue to pursue innovation and internationalization, accelerate R&D, and launch globally competitive medicines. Through independent development and open collaboration, Hengrui deepens its global footprint and accelerates innovative drug internationalization—dual engines driving high-quality growth. With steady operations, reduced selling expense ratio, and increased R&D ratio, the 2025 half-year report highlights Hengrui’s strong capabilities and leadership. As its globalization strategy advances and clusters of innovative products expand, Hengrui’s growth potential remains promising.

Reference

[1]. https://manager.wisdomir.com/files/760/2025/0820/20250820203001_45757428_en.pdf