CK Life Sciences (HKG:0775) said an indirect wholly owned subsidiary has sold the parent company of its US-based unit, Polynoma, for $125 million to Nasdaq-listed TransCode Therapeutics in a shares-for-equity deal, according to a Wednesday Hong Kong bourse filing.

Shares of the biotechnology firm were up about 3% in Thursday afternoon trade.

The consideration will be settled through the issue of common and preferred shares in TransCode, along with milestone payments of up to $95 million tied to clinical and regulatory progress for Polynoma's cancer vaccine, seviprotimut-L.

Separately, CK Life Sciences subscribed for $25 million of TransCode preferred shares to support the development of seviprotimut-L and TransCode's oncology pipeline.

The transaction combines Polynoma's late-stage melanoma vaccine program with TransCode's RNA-based cancer therapeutics, creating a broader oncology portfolio and expanded fundraising capacity, the company said.

Following completion, CK Life Sciences will hold about 9.1% of TransCode's common shares, potentially rising to 90.7% upon full conversion of preferred stock.

The company expects to record a post-tax disposal gain of not less than $50 million.