HK Stock Market Move | ZAI LAB (09688) rose over 4% in early trading. The heavyweight new drug for schizophrenia, Kaiton, has been approved for listing in China.

ZAI LAB (09688) rose more than 4% in early trading, up 3.45% to 14.1 Hong Kong dollars as of press time, with a turnover of 59.19 million Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, on December 23, ZAI LAB announced that the China National Medical Products Administration had approved the new drug application for brexpiperazine (Kejetle) capsules, used in the treatment of adult schizophrenia. This is the first schizophrenia therapy with a completely new mechanism of action approved in over 70 years, bringing a fundamental breakthrough to the treatment of schizophrenia. Public data shows that in November 2021, ZAI LAB acquired exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize brexpiperazine capsules in Greater China from Karuna Therapeutics for $187 million. NMPA's approval of brexpiperazine capsules is based on Phase I pharmacokinetic studies conducted in China, Phase III clinical studies in China (ZL-2701-001), and data from three global EMERGENT clinical studies.