By Grace Yoon
Shares of Aligos Therapeutics surged after the company received a $25 million upfront payment as part of a licensing deal with Xiamen Amoytop Biotech.
The stock was up 20% to $7.02 in after-hours trading Monday. Shares closed the market session up 4.7% at $5.85, but are still down 37% this year.
The pact between the two companies is for pevifoscorvir sodium, a hepatitis B treatment, in Greater China.
Aligos said it was eligible to receive up to $420 million in payments based on clinical, regulatory and sales milestones. The clinical stage biopharmaceutical company also said it may receive tiered, high-single-digit royalties on net sales in Amoytop's licensed territories.
Aligos retains all development and commercialization rights for pevifoscorvir sodium in all other markets, including the U.S., Europe and South Korea.
Chief Executive Lawrence Blatt said Amoytop would introduce Aligos' antisense oligonucleotide into the clinic in China in the third quarter.
Write to Grace Yoon at grace.yoon@wsj.com