Enter China
Licensing deals may be muted but they capture an undeniable force shaping Western biopharma: China.
Licensing deals are similarly muted this year. But they nevertheless capture an undeniable force shaping Western biopharma: China.
The rapid rise of China’s innovative bioscience sector – bankrolled by generous government funding – may mark the most important upheaval to Western biopharma to date. China’s scientists are not simply making generics anymore. They are crafting well-engineered assets whose profile is capturing a growing share of Western buyers’ attention and money.
Chart 9: Licensing Deal Values 2020 – 2025
In 2020, fewer than 5% of drug licensing deals involved Chinese assets. This year, that share is forecast to reach almost 40%. “I wouldn’t want to be a high-valued US-based biotech today, hoping that pharma will buy. Big Pharma are seeking, and can find, similar molecules in China for less money,” says the former Big Pharma CEO. Apart from providing fierce competition for deals, Chinese bioscience is also prompting some Western biopharma to delay publication of patents and data, to avoid inspiring contenders that may go on to overtake. (China’s medical centers have access to many more clinical trial patients than Western equivalents.) “If you have novel biology, or engineering, I would not publish or speak at scientific meetings, and would delay my patents as long as possible,” counsels Alexis Borisy, co-founder and chairman of biotech investor Curie.Bio.
China’s scientists are not simply making generics anymore.
Bispecific antibodies are a particular Chinese hotspot. Pfizer in May 2025 paid $1.25 billion upfront for ex-China rights to a VEGF-PD1 bispecific antibody from 3SBio. Merck & Co. licensed a similar asset from Shanghai-based LaNova Medicines in 2024, BioNTech bought Chinese partner Biotheus last year to secure its version, and everyone is chasing Summit and its Zhongshan-based partner Akeso’s Keytruda-beating ivonescimab.
Chart 10: Global and China Product Deal Values
