Director dealings: Chi-Med director's wife bags a bargain?

The wife of Hutchison China MediTech (Chi-Med) director Christopher Nash has swooped into the market to pick up a few of the company's shares a after hearing good reports on the China-based biopharma outfit's recent interim results and bulging drug pipeline.

Mrs Nash, wife of the company's senior independent non-executive director, snapped up 3,120 shares at the price of 1,900p and 42 at 1,899p last week, Chi-Med announced on Tuesday, to inflate the Nash household's ownership to 39,596 of the company's shares.

A week ago, Chi-Med's interim results showed group revenue up 27% to $104.5m but net income down to $0.5m due to a sharp increase in clinical investment as it funds the progress of seven drug candidates in 25 clinical trials, of which four are pivotal Phase III studies.

Through the coming three quarters, Chi-Med plans to publish proof-of-concept or pivotal trial data on four drug candidates.

Also, last Monday Chi-Med and FTSE 100 giant AstraZeneca announced an amendment to their 2011 global licensing, co-development, and commercialisation agreement regarding Chi-Med's savolitinib cancer treatment, which is currently undergoing trials for non-small cell lung cancer, kidney, gastric and colorectal cancers.

Chi-Med has now agreed contribute up to $50m over three years to the joint development costs of the global pivotal Phase III study in the c-Met gene affect on papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC).

Subject to approval in the PRCC indication, Chi-Med will receive a 5 percentage point increase in the global - excluding China - tiered royalty rate payable on savolitinib sales across all indications.

Top Director Buys

Hutchison China Meditech Ltd (HCM)
Director name: Nash,Christopher
Amount purchased: 3,120 @ 1,900.00p
Value: £59,280.00

Vitec Group (VTC)
Director name: Thomson,Caroline
Amount purchased: 8,407 @ 590.00p
Value: £49,601.30

Vitec Group (VTC)
Director name: Rollins,Mark
Amount purchased: 5,100 @ 590.00p
Value: £30,090.00

Verona Pharma (VRP)
Director name: Jan-Anders Karlsson,Sven
Amount purchased: 600,000 @ 3.25p
Value: £19,494.00

Elegant Hotels Group (EHG)
Director name: Adams,David
Amount purchased: 6,000 @ 63.50p
Value: £3,810.00

Hutchison China Meditech Ltd (HCM)
Director name: Nash,Christopher
Amount purchased: 42 @ 1,899.00p
Value: £797.58

Mj Gleeson (GLE)
Director name: Allanson ,Stefan
Amount purchased: 38 @ 509.75p
Value: £193.70

Rolls-royce Holdings (RR.)
Director name: Smith,David
Amount purchased: 20 @ 764.00p
Value: £152.80

Countrywide (CWD)
Director name: Platt,Alison
Amount purchased: 61 @ 248.50p
Value: £151.58

Countrywide (CWD)
Director name: Clarke,Jim
Amount purchased: 60 @ 248.50p
Value: £149.10

Rolls-royce Holdings (RR.)
Director name: Smith,Colin P
Amount purchased: 17 @ 764.00p
Value: £129.88

Interserve (IRV)
Director name: Haywood,Tim
Amount purchased: 40 @ 312.00p
Value: £124.80

Interserve (IRV)
Director name: Melizan,Bruce
Amount purchased: 40 @ 312.00p
Value: £124.80

Top Director Sells

Dignity (DTY)
Director name: Davies,Andrew
Amount sold: 32,405 @ 2,640.92p
Value: £855,788.97

Dignity (DTY)
Director name: Portman,Richard
Amount sold: 25,929 @ 2,680.00p
Value: £694,897.18

Dignity (DTY)
Director name: Whittern,Steve
Amount sold: 21,301 @ 2,634.00p
Value: £561,068.34

Nichols (NICL)
Director name: Millard ,Marnie
Amount sold: 8,254 @ 1,400.00p
Value: £115,556.00