Chongqing Chenan Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Chinese vaccine maker Zhifei Biological Products plans to acquire Chenan Biopharmaceutical to enter the market for metabolic disease treatments, the companies announced. The cost of the acquisition was not disclosed, but Chenan, which was founded in 2015, will become a wholly-owned unit of Zhifei once the deal closes.The companies are already linked, given that Chenan is controlled by Zhifei's owner. Zhirui Investment holds an 85% stake in Chenan, which is based in the Chinese city of Chongqing, while Zhang Gaoxia owns the rest.Chenan currently has six drug candidates that have entered clinical studies, including the GLP-1 derivative liraglutide and the insulin degludec, which have completed Phase III testing, and are at the stage of application for listing.It is also working on injectable recombinant semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, which is used as a treatment for obesity as well. Chenan's version is in Phase III testing. In addition, the company's preclinical pipeline includes GLP-1/GIP dual-target receptor agonists, oral semaglutide and other early-stage candidates.In October, Zhifei inked a deal to co-promote GSK's Shingrix in China as the UK drugmaker looks to double sales of the shingles vaccine to more than £4 billion ($5 billion) by 2026.