HK's Akeso rallies after AstraZeneca invests $2 billion in Summit, backs ivonescimab

** Shares of antibody drugs producer Akeso Inc 9926.HK jump 15.7% to HK$106.4, their biggest intraday pct gain since September 2024

** Stock hits its highest point since July 23 after falling for three consecutive sessions

** Stock is top pct gainer in Hang Seng Biotech Index .HSBIO, which is up 1.3%

** Summit Therapeutics SMMT.O said on Monday that British drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L would invest $2 billion in the company and collaborate on a series of studies testing their cancer treatments together

** The investment marks a major vote of confidence in ivonescimab, a next-generation cancer treatment licensed by Summit from China's Akeso

** Summit and AstraZeneca also signed agreements to explore testing ivonescimab with several other AstraZeneca medicines, including its antibody-drug conjugates, a class of treatments that deliver cancer-killing drugs directly to tumor cells

** YTD, Akeso stock down 6.3%, benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI down 4.6%