Arbutus Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ:ABUS) shares are trading higher after the company announced it received a $40M upfront payment from Qilu to commercialize AB-729 in Asia.

William Collier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arbutus Biopharma, commented, "Qilu is an ideal partner for our AB-729 RNAi therapeutic given their extensive development, regulatory and commercialization capabilities in China. We are now positioned to bring AB-729 to the largest HBV patient population in need of a cure and to tap into one of the largest and most promising healthcare markets worldwide."

"We are committed to working with Qilu in this partnership which further validates the potential of AB-729 to address the unmet medical need in HBV," Collier stated.

Arbutus Biopharma is a biopharmaceutical company. The company discovers, develops, and commercializes cures for patients suffering from Hepatitis B infection.

Arbutus Biopharma has a 52-week high of $6.50 and a 52-week low of $2.43.