China's biotech firms record surge in overseas licensing deals in first quarter
Chinese biotech companies accelerated in the first quarter, with the number of overseas deals surging 18 per cent year on year, showing strong momentum in the field of drugs research, according to a new report.
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Chinese drug makers landed 33 deals with overseas healthcare firms in the first three months of this year, with transactions totalling US$36.2 billion, according to a report published on Wednesday by mainland pharmaceutical and biotech consultancy DrugTimes.
That was up from the first quarter last year, when Chinese biotech firms made 28 overseas deals, according to the report. There were 98 transactions recorded in 2024, with a total value of US$59.5 billion.
The largest deal in the first quarter, with a contract value of US$13 billion, was between GeneQuantum – headquartered in Suzhou, a city in eastern Jiangsu province – and Nasdaq-listed Biohaven as well as Seoul-based pharmaceutical firm AimedBio. It involved antibody drug conjugates, which are a class of drugs designed as a targeted therapy for treating cancer.
In one of the deals last quarter, Hong Kong-listed biotech firm Harbour BioMed entered into a strategic global collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop next-generation, multi-specific antibodies for immunology and oncology. The deal was valued at US$4.7 billion, according to DrugTimes.
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The steady rise of these deals, including out-licensing and joint ventures, reflects how the Chinese pharmaceutical sector is expanding offshore.
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