Chinese biotech giant WuXi AppTech sees H1 earnings grow 1/3

WuXi AppTec, Asia’s largest provider of contract pharmaceutical research, posted net income that beat market expectations in the first half of the year, reports the South China Morning Post. This comes amid strong demand tied to weight-loss and diabetes drugs, as well as gains in its US business.

Interim net profit attributable to the owners of the Shanghai-based drug contractor advanced 33.7% to RMB 11.08 billion ($1.64 billion) from a year earlier.

The company’s new order intake grew by more than 40%, year on year, in the first half, its chief financial officer, Florence Shi, said during an earnings call on Tuesday.