METiS TechBio revenue surges on licensing deal

METiS TechBio reported revenue of 154.3 million yuan ($22.7 million) for the first half of 2026, 47 percent more than it recorded for the whole of 2025.

Revenue at the Chinese biotechnology company, which uses artificial intelligence in drug development, rose 13,399 percent from the same period last year.

Its adjusted net loss narrowed 56.4 percent to 51.1 million yuan. Research and development spending increased 48.1 percent to 172.4 million yuan.

METiS had 3.03 billion yuan in financial reserves at the end of June. Its debt-to-asset ratio fell to 9 percent from 19 percent at the end of last year.

During the period, the company licensed the global rights to MTS-128, a trispecific T-cell engager, to US-based Boulevard Bio. METiS received an upfront payment of $20 million and could receive up to $1.6 billion in further payments if the drug reaches agreed development, regulatory and sales targets. The agreement also includes royalties on future sales.

The company also began working with Hengrui Pharma on the development of formulations for drug candidates that are difficult to dissolve.

METiS said its NanoForge platform, originally developed for drug delivery, is now also being used in the design of proteins, antibodies and nucleic acid sequences. It launched an AI platform for protein design and an antibody optimization system during the first half.

Chris Lai, chairman and CEO of METiS TechBio, said the company would continue to develop NanoForge and seek more partnerships, licensing deals and joint development projects.

Yu Guo contributed to the story.