High-value oncology deals drive China’s drug licensing boom

As 2025 draws to a close, China’s meteoric emergence successful the innovative medicines conception has undeniably captured the attraction of the planetary pharmaceutical industry.

Once considered a federation with expertise successful generic and “me-too” cause manufacturing, China is moving distant from this estimation by leaning into the strategical improvement of first-class oregon best-in-class innovative therapies crossed pharma and biotech.

These efforts are supported by the accelerated enlargement of China’s objective proceedings ecosystem, which saw the state instrumentality the pb successful planetary survey initiations successful 2024, arsenic shown by investigation by GlobalData, the genitor institution of Pharmaceutical Technology.

China’s regulatory strategy is besides poised for continued growth, with swift investigational caller cause exertion (IND) processing playing a cardinal relation successful timeline acceleration.

As R&D efforts accelerate crossed therapy areas, including oncology, immunology and cardiometabolic health, Western companies are progressively seeking retired deals with Chinese biotech and pharma. This comes arsenic they look to bulk retired their pipelines with high-quality, cost-effective therapies successful anticipation of the looming patent cliff, which GlobalData estimates volition origin US cause income to driblet by $230bn betwixt 2025 and 2030.

This uptick successful deals is evidenced by the prevalence and worth of Chinese innovator cause licensing deals, which comprised 28% of the innovator deals signed by ample pharma successful 2024, portion accounting for $41.5bn successful value, according to GlobalData.

As deals betwixt the West and China proceed to drawback headlines, determination are questions arsenic to what the licensing woody scenery volition look similar successful the future, arsenic good arsenic however China volition interact with the wider pharmaceutical marketplace moving forward.

In the past 5 years, determination has been a sizable summation successful high-value deals betwixt the West and China, with 20 transactions worthy implicit $500m taking spot successful 2023 alone. 2025 has been nary different, with Novartis signing a $5.36bn woody with Argo Biopharmaceutical, AstraZeneca forging a $5.3bn statement with CSPC Pharmaceutical and Zenas Biopharma entering a $2bn statement with InnoCare Pharma.

As 2026 approaches, Josh Smiley, president and COO of US-China biopharma Zai Labs, predicts that dealmaking betwixt China and the West volition proceed to grow, with woody measurement rising successful tandem.

Smiley said: “One of the main reasons that planetary companies are truthful engaged successful China close present is the information that you tin find an aboriginal objective programme for little full worth speech than successful the US oregon Europe.