A major breakthrough in cancer vaccine development sent pharmaceutical stocks across A-share and Hong Kong markets into overdrive on August 20, with the sector leading all others throughout the trading day.
Main capital funds rushed in, with net inflows exceeding 20.8 billion yuan into the A-share pharmaceutical and biotech sector (Shenwan classification), leaving all other industries far behind. Among the 50 constituent stocks of the CSI Healthcare Index, 49 closed higher, with Porton Pharma Solutions and MGI Tech both hitting the 20% daily limit. Wuxi Apptec Co.,Ltd. (ASX: 603259), which holds a 14.35% weight in the index, reached a fresh all-time high.
The Huabao Medical ETF (512170), which tracks this index, saw its closing price hit a six-month high, with trading volume doubling to 1.268 billion yuan. The Hong Kong Stock Connect innovative drug sector also rallied strongly, with the Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug Selection Index reaching a three-month high intraday.
EVEREST MED (ASX: 01952) surged over 70% at one point before closing up 41.43%, while CanSino Biologics gained 37.36% and heavyweight China National Pharmaceutical Group rose 12.53%. The Huabao Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF (520880), which tracks this index, broke above its 200-day moving average with conviction, posting full-day turnover of 903 million yuan, a sharp 146% increase from the previous session.
The catalyst came on August 19 when pharmaceutical giants Moderna and Merck jointly announced that their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine Intismeran (V940) successfully met both primary endpoints—relapse-free survival (RFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS)—in a Phase III clinical trial for adjuvant treatment of high-risk melanoma. This marks the first positive Phase III result for mRNA technology in oncology treatment.
Overnight, US pharmaceutical stocks soared on the news. Moderna's share price more than doubled, skyrocketing 177%, while Merck hit an all-time high. Eli Lilly also rose 4.46% to a record high, pushing its market capitalization past $1.2 trillion, making it the first pharmaceutical company in human history to reach that valuation.
The overseas technological breakthrough is accelerating the rise of domestic mRNA oncology platforms. According to public information, several Chinese biotech companies have already positioned themselves in this space. EVEREST MED has localized its clinically validated self-developed AI+mRNA platform, while WUXI APPTEC's DMPK team has established an integrated bioanalytical platform to accelerate the development and regulatory filing of mRNA vaccines, mRNA therapeutics, and delivery systems.
The industry-shaking breakthrough, combined with the rally in US pharma stocks, has strongly boosted bullish sentiment across A+H medical stocks. The fund manager of the Huabao Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF (520880) previously noted that with momentum from both commercialization and business development fronts, the industry is expected to deliver broad earnings beats this year. Combined with potential BD deals in Q3 and Q4, as well as AI-related collaborations, innovative drugs are poised to take over from CXO companies in launching a new wave of market gains.
For investors looking to capture the full innovative drug value chain, ETFs offer an efficient route. The Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF Huabao (520880) supports T+0 trading, holds zero CXO exposure, and is 100% allocated to innovative drug R&D companies, with 70% of positions in innovative drug R&D leaders. For A-share innovative drug opportunities, the only Pharmaceutical Index-tracking ETF Huabao (562050) has an innovative drug content exceeding 70%.
For CXO exposure, the Hong Kong Stock Connect Healthcare ETF Huabao (159137) supports T+0 trading, with CXO content over 50%, of which the Wuxi system accounts for more than 38%. For A-share CXO opportunities, the Medical ETF Huabao (512170) covers 8 CXO leaders, with combined weight exceeding 30%.
Data is sourced from public information from the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong exchanges, as well as the CSI and Hang Seng Index companies. Weight data is as of August 19, 2026. Note: ETF funds do not charge sales service fees. When investors subscribe for or redeem fund shares, the agent broker may charge a commission of no more than 0.5%, which includes fees charged by stock exchanges and registration institutions. For fund fee details, please refer to the fund's legal documents.
Risk disclosure: The index constituent stocks shown here are for illustration only, and descriptions of individual stocks do not constitute investment advice in any form, nor do they represent the holdings or trading activities of any fund under the manager's management. The fund manager assesses the Medical ETF and Pharmaceutical ETF Huabao as R3-medium risk, suitable for balanced (C3) and above investors, while the Hong Kong Stock Connect Healthcare ETF Huabao and Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF Huabao are assessed as R4-medium-high risk, suitable for aggressive (C4) and above investors. Any information appearing in this article (including but not limited to individual stocks, comments, forecasts, charts, indicators, theories, and any form of expression) is for reference only. Investors must be responsible for their own investment decisions. Additionally, any views, analysis, and forecasts in this article do not constitute investment advice to readers in any form, nor do they bear any responsibility for direct or indirect losses caused by the use of this content. The performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not constitute a guarantee of fund performance, and past performance does not represent future results. Fund investment carries risks.