The global expansion of 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.
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.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
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.
The steady rise of these deals, including out-licensing and joint ventures, reflects how the Chinese pharmaceutical sector is expanding offshore.
Chinese biotech companies in recent years have played an increasingly prominent role in the global pharmaceutical industry, as more major Western companies look to China for innovative drugs.
That trend continues in spite of rising geopolitical tensions, which has been complicated by the Trump administration’s roll-out of new tariffs against US trading partners around the world.
Trump on Wednesday slapped an additional 34 per cent tariff on China as part of a sweeping “Liberation Day” package aimed at boosting American manufacturing, which has triggered concerns about disruptions across the global supply chain.
These tariffs, however, will not present a major concern for China’s healthcare industry as drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredient are exempt from these new levies, according to a Jefferies report on Wednesday.
Jefferies analysts said in the report that it was “unlikely” for the Trump administration to reinitiate the Biosecure Act, a bill that restricts US contracts with Chinese biotech firms, which the Biden Administration introduced in January last year.
More from South China Morning Post:
- What if curing cancer could cost 99% less in China?
- Chinese drug maker Akeso hailed as biotech’s ‘DeepSeek moment’ amid US competition
- Chinese biotech firms cash in on promising drug discoveries via licensing deals
- Chinese biotech firms brace for profit hit from Trump tariffs, US funding bill
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2025.
