Biohit Jumps Most in Three Months on China Deal: Helsinki Mover

Biohit Oyj (BIOBV), the Finnish maker of tools to diagnose and prevent gastrointestinal diseases, gained the most in three months in Helsinki trading after adding a distributor for its cancer-prevention product.

Biohit shares rose as much as 17 percent to 5.19 euros, the biggest jump since Oct. 8. They were up 14 percent at 12:43 p.m. in the Finnish capital. That was the biggest increase on the Nasdaq OMX Helsinki all-share index with trading volume almost five times the three-month average.

Biohit signed a distribution agreement with Grand Pharmaceutical Co., a Chinese company, adding its third deal for Acetium in a month. In December Biohit completed agreements with Canada’s Xediton Pharmaceuticals and ProGalenika, which will dispense the treatment in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

Acetium helps patients suffering from insufficient levels of stomach acid to prevent stomach and esophageal cancers. The substance is patented in the U.S. and Europe as a way to bind carcinogenic acetaldehyde, which is naturally occurring and present in food. Acetium is the only product proven to reduce exposure to acetaldehyde, according to Helsinki-based Biohit.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Brogger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net