Boehringer Ingelheim Sells China CDMO Business to Local Company for a Low Price

German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim is selling its biologics contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business in China to a local company for a low price.

According to U.S. pharmaceutical trade publication Fierce Pharma on the 25th (local time), Boehringer Ingelheim will sell its 100% stake in its Shanghai-based biologics contract manufacturing subsidiary to local antibody developer Laas Blood Products.

Laas said in a disclosure that it would acquire the entire stake in Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals in China for up to 20 million yuan (about $3 million). The company has registered capital of $66 million.

The business, Boehringer Ingelheim's local subsidiary, was established in Shanghai in 2014 and has primarily handled contract development and manufacturing of biologics. It has carried out projects ranging from clinical production to commercial projects, and has also provided chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) registration support and analytical method development and validation services.

In its disclosure, Laas said the business has a contract manufacturing facility with commercial production capacity of 6,000 liters and a drug manufacturing license issued by the Shanghai Municipal Medical Products Administration. It also said the business has industrialization capabilities and a "mature and stable technical workforce."

Laas described the business as "a rare large-molecule biopharmaceutical production platform in China." It added, however, that the business posted losses in 2024 and 2025, as well as in the first quarter of this year.

The business recorded a net loss of 16.8 million yuan (about $2.5 million) in the first quarter of this year and 259 million yuan (about $38.5 million) for all of last year. Laas said it had fallen behind local CDMO companies such as WuXi Biologics in the competition.

Laas said the acquisition would "address gaps in the industrialization of innovative drugs." It plans to use the business's production capacity and quality management system to ensure the timely production and launch of its lead candidate SR604 and other pipeline drugs.

SR604 is the world's first monoclonal antibody candidate to target activated protein C for the treatment of hemophilia. Laas is developing it for both hemophilia A and B and said preparations for Phase 3 are progressing smoothly.

Boehringer Ingelheim is reportedly seeking to focus on other businesses as it adjusts its China strategy. The company's revenue rose 12% in the first half of this year, driven by U.S. demand for its diabetes and heart failure drug Jardiance.