CK Life Sciences, the biotech arm of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has agreed to merge a Canadian drug development unit, WEX Pharmaceuticals, with Nasdaq-listed Virios Therapeutics.
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CK Life Sciences said on Monday that Sealbond, a wholly-owned subsidiary, is selling its 100% stake in Pharmagesic, the parent company of WEX Pharmaceuticals, to Virios Therapeutics for $100 million in an all-stock deal. Following the transaction, WEX Pharmaceuticals will merge with Virios Therapeutics, which will be renamed Dogwood Therapeutics, according to CK Life Sciences' filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The combination will be effective on Wednesday.
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“The merger enables WEX to tap into the U.S. capital markets, and strengthen the R&D team, accelerating the development of WEX,” said Alan Yu, deputy chairman of CK Life Sciences, in a statement.
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Vancouver-based WEX Pharmaceuticals is developing a treatment for moderate-to-severe pain conditions caused by cancer and chemotherapy. Called Halneuron, the drug has entered clinical human trials. The company was taken over by CK Life Sciences’ Pharmagesic in 2011.
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Georgia-headquartered Virios Therapeutics, meanwhile, is developing therapies for long-Covid and fibromyalgia, an illness that causes chronic muscle pain and fatigue.
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On Monday, CK Life Sciences also said it will provide a loan of up to $19.5 million through another wholly–owned subsidiary, Conjoint, to finance WEX Pharmaceuticals’ clinical and research and development activities for its Halneuron drug.
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CK Life Sciences, chaired by Li’s eldest son Victor, focuses on developing therapies for cancer as well as treatment for cancer-induced pain and cancer diagnostics. The Hong Kong-listed company also has business in health supplements and in agriculture, including ownership of vineyards and salt production.
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CK Life Sciences has in recent years jumped on the artificial intelligence bandwagon, partnering with Shenzhen-based AI drug discovery company Xtalpi to discover and design tumor vaccines and diagnostic tools. Known formally as QuantumPharm, Xtalpi went public in a $127 million Hong Kong initial public offering in June.
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Li, who serves as the senior advisor of his two flagship companies, CK Hutchison and CK Asset, has been devoted to healthcare causes. Through his Li Ka Shing Foundation, the 96-year-old has made numerous donations in the field, including gifting two cutting-edge devices that can destroy cancerous tissue using non-invasive ultrasound waves to the University of Hong Kong’s Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine in August.
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Last year, Li was named as one of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list for his HK$60 million donation to two universities to support the use of AI in medical education. The nonagenarian started his foundation in 1980 and has since given away more than HK$30 billion, with the bulk of the funds going to education and healthcare.

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