Ascletis Pharma (HKG:1672) said its founder and controlling shareholder Jinzi Jason Wu agreed to sell shares of the company in exchange for new ones in the business, according to a Hong Kong bourse filing on Tuesday.

JJW12, an entity controlled by Wu, hired Citigroup Global Markets to sell 52.4 million Ascletis shares at HK$16.45 apiece to interested parties.

Simultaneously, JJW12 agreed to purchase 28,820,000 new shares at the same price to inject HK$467.7 million in fresh capital.

The transactions will result in a net decrease in JJW12's ownership to 49.45% of Ascletis from 53.38%.

Ascletis said it will use the new funds to primarily advance its drug candidates.

The pharmaceutical company's shares fell over 9% in pre-market trade Tuesday.