"Leading Innovator in Pharmaceuticals" seals a $950 million deal, as China's innovative drug exports show a trend of "increasing both volume and value
【Pharmaceutical Network Industry News】In recent years, China's innovative drug industry has increasingly shone on the global stage, with outbound transactions experiencing explosive growth characterized by "increases in both volume and value." Latest data show that, to date, domestic innovative drugs have secured 83 out-licensing deals this year, just nine shy of the total 92 deals for the entire last year, representing a year-on-year surge of 57%. The total transaction value reached $84.531 billion, far surpassing last year's total of $48.813 billion and marking a sharp increase of 185% year-on-year. Upfront payments also stood out, amounting to $4.321 billion—a 165% year-on-year growth—and already exceeding last year's total of $4.047 billion. This series of data not only attests to the R&D capabilities and market recognition of domestic innovative drugs but also signals that China's pharmaceutical industry is accelerating its transition from "local innovation" to "global competition." The "Chinese moment" in the global pharmaceutical industry has arrived.
Recently, another domestic pharmaceutical company has secured an overseas deal, with BeiGene announcing an agreement with U.S. biopharmaceutical royalty investment firm Royalty Pharma. The agreement involves the sale of rights to receive royalties on global sales (excluding China) of talquetamab, a product licensed through a collaboration with Amgen.
As a promising immunotherapy, talacotuzumab can simultaneously bind to the DLL3 protein on tumor cells and the CD3 protein on T cells, thereby activating T cells to kill tumor cells expressing DLL3. According to the terms of the agreement, BeiGene will receive an upfront payment of $885 million for this collaboration and has the right to sell the remaining royalty rights within 12 months, potentially securing an additional payment of up to $65 million. BeiGene will also be entitled to a share of the product's annual sales exceeding $1.5 billion, proportional to its royalty stake. Additionally, BeiGene will retain royalty rights for other products and all other entitlements, including related innovative products currently under investigation for prostate cancer patients
Industry insiders note that in recent years, China's innovative drugs have begun to expand from the domestic market to the global stage. Driven by both innovation momentum and policy incentives, the global pharmaceutical industry is accelerating into the "China moment." According to analyses, since the beginning of this year, besides BeiGene, many other pharmaceutical companies have also secured substantial overseas deals.
As of 2025, Hengrui Medicine has already completed three out-licensing deals, with partners including Germany's Merck, Merck & Co., and GSK. In July of this year, Hengrui entered into a collaboration agreement with GSK to jointly develop up to 12 innovative drugs in the fields of respiratory, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and oncology (including the out-licensing of the PDE3/4 inhibitor HRS9821 outside Greater China). Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will pay Hengrui Medicine $500 million in upfront payments, with potential option exercise fees and milestone payments totaling approximately $12 billion, along with tiered sales royalties
Meanwhile, Fosun Pharma entered a "period of intensive harvests" in overseas expansion this August, announcing two significant licensing deals in quick succession that further broadened the global reach of its innovative products. Similarly, 3SBio Inc. made a breakthrough in the overseas expansion of innovative drugs. In May of this year, it announced that it had granted Pfizer (PFE.US) the global development, production, and commercialization rights (excluding mainland China) for its self-developed breakthrough PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, SSGJ-707, with an upfront payment as high as $1.25
The remarkable success of Chinese innovative drugs in expanding globally can be attributed to the dual drivers of innovation momentum and policy incentives. On the innovation front, domestic pharmaceutical companies have significantly increased their R&D investments in recent years, focusing on addressing unmet clinical needs. This has led to the emergence of a number of globally competitive innovative drugs, laying a solid product foundation for their global expansion. On the policy front, the National Medical Products Administration has continuously advanced reforms in the drug review and approval system, accelerating the time-to-market for innovative drugs and creating a "green channel" for their entry into the global market. Additionally, the urgent global demand for innovative therapies has provided a vast stage for Chinese innovative drugs. An increasing number of international pharmaceutical companies are turning their attention to China, seeking high-quality innovative assets through collaborations and licensing agreements, thereby fostering a mutually beneficial and win-win partnership
Industry insiders note that Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies have continuously enhanced their capabilities, with most now possessing the capacity to expand globally and having gained recognition from multinational corporations (MNCs). Going global, meaning stepping onto the international stage, has become an inevitable step.
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