UPDATE 3-China's CSPC Pharmaceutical signs deal with AstraZeneca for weight-loss therapy

AstraZeneca will license experimental drugs for ‌obesity and weight-related conditions from CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and collaborate on additional projects, paying $1.2 billion upfront and up to $17.3 billion more if ⁠development and sales milestones are met, the Chinese drugmaker said on Friday. The deal is the latest tie-up between the two pharmaceutical giants, following collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence. ​It expands AstraZeneca's investment in the growing obesity market led by Western rivals.

The ‍British-Swedish drugmaker has also licensed an experimental weight-loss pill from China's EccoGene. CSPC shares were down about 12% in Hong Kong following the announcement.

"This reflects the classic 'buy the rumour, sell the news' phenomenon," said Tony ⁠Ren, ‌head of Asia healthcare ⁠research at Macquarie Capital, adding that investors seemed to be offloading the stock after its 26% surge ‍since January 2. The newly licensed drug candidates from CSPC include SYH2082, a "clinical-ready" product, and three ​other pre-clinical products in its injectable weight-management portfolio, the company said in a filing ⁠to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The agreement covers the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of the candidates. AstraZeneca has ⁠been granted a global licence, excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China. AstraZeneca will also collaborate on four additional new programmes with CSPC, using CSPC's proprietary platforms for sustained-release ⁠delivery technology and AI-driven peptide drug discovery.

A spokesperson for AstraZeneca said in a statement the ⁠new CSPC Pharmaceutical ‌deal was in addition to a previous $15 billion investment in China that it announced on Thursday.