SCIENTECH pays RMB1.09 billion for 54% Minwei stake in metabolic push

SCIENTECH is paying RMB1.09 billion in cash to take control of a metabolic and cardiovascular drug developer as its core business slows.

SCIENTECH agreed to pay RMB1.09 billion in cash for a 54.2384 percent stake in Shanghai Minwei Biotechnology, buying into the metabolic and cardiovascular drug market as its core business slows.

The acquisition is aimed at entering the high-growth metabolism and cardiovascular sectors and strengthening its full-cycle disease treatment strategy, SCIENTECH said in a filing.

SCIENTECH shares jumped 20.5 percent on the announcement, while LEPU MEDICAL, the seller and controlling shareholder, fell 4.9 percent. Shanghai Minwei develops treatments for cardiovascular, endocrine and metabolic diseases and their complications, and owns the GPCR agonist screening platform LAGMA, a RAF ultra-long-acting molecule development platform and a Dual-siRNA development platform.

The deal comes as SCIENTECH's own earnings weaken — first-half 2026 net profit fell 19.5 percent year on year to RMB147 million — making the acquisition a bet that metabolic and cardiovascular therapies can offset the slowdown and broaden its addressable market.

A Cash Purchase From Its Controlling Shareholder

The transaction, announced Aug. 21, is an all-cash purchase from LEPU MEDICAL, which retains a stake in Shanghai Minwei after the sale. The premium to an undisturbed price and the expected closing timeline were not disclosed, and the deal remains subject to regulatory approvals the company did not detail.

The purchase adds three drug-development platforms — the GPCR agonist screening platform LAGMA, a RAF ultra-long-acting molecule platform and a Dual-siRNA platform — that target cardiovascular, endocrine and metabolic conditions. That positions SCIENTECH against a field of Chinese biotech companies competing for a share of a growing patient population in two of the fastest-expanding segments of the country's drug market.

The market's reaction split the two companies: SCIENTECH's short-selling ratio stood at 0.491 percent of turnover, or HK$692,300, as of Aug. 21, while its shares traded at a 20.5 percent premium on the announcement. The divergence shows how investors read the deal as a growth bet for the buyer and a portfolio exit for the seller, whose own shares fell nearly 5 percent.

Whether the acquisition pays off will hinge on how quickly Shanghai Minwei's candidates move through clinical development and whether the metabolic and cardiovascular market grows fast enough to lift SCIENTECH's revenue as its first-half profit contracts. The company has not set a closing date or detailed the regulatory path, leaving the timeline open.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.