China biotech deals hit record as innovative drugs draw interest of multinationals

he US$60 billion deal value represents a 73 per cent jump from the same period a year earlier.

Photo: Shutterstock The cross-border outlicensing activities of Chinese biotech firms reached a record transaction value of US$60 billion in the first quarter of 2026, driven by multinational pharmaceutical companies’ growing appetite for the country’s promising drug candidates.

The deal value represented a 73 per cent jump from the same period a year earlier, and accounted for nearly half of the total US$135.7 billion worth of agreements signed throughout 2025, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) said in a statement on Saturday.

The drug regulator did not reveal the number of transactions.

Outlicensing agreements typically involve a company granting another firm the exclusive rights to further develop, manufacture and commercialise a drug once it has entered human clinical trials, in return for upfront payments, milestone fees and royalties on future sales. “Chinese biotech firms have shown substantial technological advancements over the past few years and some of their innovative research has piqued the interest of international pharmaceutical big names,” said Meng Tianying, a senior executive at Shanghai-based consultancy Domo Medical. “It has become a new bright spot of the Chinese economy in line with the government’s efforts to encourage innovation.” Innovative drugs – novel medicines targeting unmet medical needs, including new chemical entities and advanced biologics – were expected to grow at an annualised pace of 20 per cent between 2026 and 2030 in mainland China, before slowing to 8.8 per cent from 2030 to 2040, according to Chen Chen, head of China healthcare research at UBS.

Innovative drugs are expected to grow at an annualised pace of 20 per cent between 2026 and 2030 in mainland China, according to a UBS analyst.

Photo: Shutterstock The Swiss bank estimated last year that the mainland’s pharmaceutical industry would rise by 50 per cent between 2024 and 2030, generating revenues of US$2.1 trillion by 2030.

An ageing population offered the biggest boost to drug and medical device businesses in China, with the market size likely to top US$3.2 trillion in 2050, Chen said in a media briefing in October.

Among the latest outlicensing deals involving China-originated drugs, Hong Kong-listed Sino Biopharmaceutical agreed with Sanofi early this month to grant the French pharmaceutical company the exclusive worldwide rights to devel

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