Pharma Weekly Roundup (Jan 12–18): Policy Updates, BD Deals, and New Drug Approvals

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This week, a group of pharmaceutical companies successively disclosed their 2025 annual earnings forecasts, with some rejoicing and others worrying.

Among them, WuXi AppTec is expected to achieve approximately 45.46 billion yuan in revenue for the full year of 2025, maintaining a high double-digit growth rate in its continuing operations income. The growth in profit is even more astonishing, with the adjusted Non-IFRS net profit attributable to shareholders increasing by about 41.3% year-on-year, surpassing market expectations. However, "vaccine leader" Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd. is projected to incur losses exceeding 10 billion yuan, with the company forecasting its net profit attributable to shareholders to drop by 630%-780% year-on-year in 2025. Additionally, other pharmaceutical companies such as Dizhen Medicine, Yipinhong, and Yibai Pharmaceutical are also expected to report significant losses.

The Enthusiasm for M&A in the Industry Continues to Rise, Especially in the Field of Blood Sugar Reduction and Weight Loss. On January 16, raynovent and Qilu Pharmaceutical reached a RMB 1 billion cooperation on the former's RAY1225 injection, a dual agonist of GLP-1 receptor and GIP receptor.

More information is organized as follows:

1. China Launches Pilot Program for Comprehensive Value Evaluation of Real-World Medical Insurance

On January 17, the National Healthcare Security Administration officially released the "Announcement on the Public Solicitation of Opinions for the 'Guidelines for Comprehensive Medical Insurance Value Evaluation in Real-World Healthcare Services (Trial)'", planning to establish a value-oriented comprehensive medical insurance evaluation system based on real-world research by the end of 2027. This system aims to objectively assess the clinical benefits, cost-effectiveness, patient experience, and other multi-dimensional values of pharmaceutical products and healthcare services through "real-world data."To provide scientific basis for decision-making in the adjustment of the medical insurance catalog, drug and consumable price bidding, and the establishment of medical service projects.

After independent application by medical institutions, provincial and municipal recommendations, and comprehensive evaluation,The National Healthcare Security Administration has selected 79 medical institutions, including Peking University People's Hospital, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, as the first batch of "National Trusted Evaluation Points for Real-World Comprehensive Value Assessment of Healthcare Security."These medical institutions jointly signed the "National Trusted Evaluation Point Network Convention for Comprehensive Value Assessment of Real-World Medical Insurance" on January 16, 2026, officially forming the trusted evaluation point network.

2. National Launch of the Medical Insurance Drug Price Comparison Mini Program in China

The Advancement of "Transparent" Drug Prices: The National Launch of the Medical Insurance Drug Price Comparison Mini-Program Across China

On January 16, the National Healthcare Security Administration announced on its WeChat Official Account platform that "The Medical Insurance Drug Price Comparison Mini Program Has Been Fully Launched Nationwide in China—No More Wasted Money on Medications!"

The National Healthcare Security Administration will promote the construction of a medical insurance drug price comparison mini-program for designated pharmacies nationwide starting from 2024. The medical insurance drug price comparison mini-program relies on the data resources of medical insurance designated medical institutions across China, with timely data updates, comprehensive functions, and wide coverage, allowing for one-stop drug price comparison.As of now, all 31 provinces in China and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have completed the launch of the medical insurance drug price comparison mini-program.

3、Public Announcement of the Results of Jiangsu Province's Sixth Round of Medicine Centralized Procurement

Public Announcement of the Results of Jiangsu Province's Sixth Round of Medicine Centralized Procurement!

On January 12, the Jiangsu Provincial Medical Security Bureau released the "Announcement (II) of the Sixth Round of Centralized Volume-based Drug Procurement in Jiangsu Province".Announcement of the Tentative Winning Results for the Sixth Round of Jiangsu Province's Centralized Bulk Drug Procurement。

The results of the sixth round of centralized procurement will significantly reduce the medication costs for the public and save expenditures from the medical insurance fund. It will also push pharmaceutical companies to shift from price competition to research and innovation, promoting high-quality development in the industry. This reflects the deepening of local centralized procurement efforts and accelerates the return of drug prices to a reasonable range.

1. Hisun Pharmaceuticals Fined for False Financial Information

Announcement on January 17: Hisun Pharmaceutical announced that the company recently received the "Decision on Issuing a Warning Letter to Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Relevant Personnel" issued by the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau, stating that the financial information in the annual reports of Hisun Pharmaceutical during the period from 2021 to 2024 was untrue and inaccurate.

According to the "Explanation of Significant Prior Period Error Corrections" released by the listed company on August 26, 2025,The financial information has been inaccurate for four consecutive years, mainly due to its subsidiary, Zhejiang Provincial Pharmaceutical Company.

From 2021 to 2023, some raw material trading businesses of the provincial pharmaceutical company lacked sufficient commercial substance and commercial rationality, failing to meet the conditions for revenue recognition. The significant prior-period error corrections involved a combined reduction of 949 million yuan in consolidated financial statement operating revenue for 2021-2023, a reduction of 930 million yuan in operating costs, and an increase of 18.7977 million yuan in investment income; an increase of 405 million yuan in consolidated financial statement operating revenue for 2024, an increase of 395 million yuan in operating costs, and a decrease of 10.3321 million yuan in investment income.

The Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau determined that the company's then-chairman Jiang Guoping, Shen Xinghu, then-president Li Yan, Xiao Weihong, then-chief financial officer Zhang Zhenying, and board secretary Shen Xifei violated the "Administrative Measures for Information Disclosure of Listed Companies."It was decided to take supervisory measures of issuing warning letters to the company and relevant personnel, and record them in the integrity file of the securities and futures market.Previously, on January 16, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued a disciplinary decision notice, publicly criticizing Hisun Pharmaceuticals, Jiang Guoping, Shen Xinghu, and others.

2. China Biopharmaceutical Acquires Hejia

On January 13, China Biologic Products Holdings, a leading pharmaceutical company in the Hong Kong stock market, announced that it would acquire Hergy Biopharma, a domestic siRNA innovative drug company, for a total price of 1.2 billion yuan. Hergy's self-developed multi-tissue delivery siRNA platform has achieved delivery efficiency and product efficacy far ahead of industry levels, making it considered a "dark horse" in China’s small nucleic acid field.

Hegia's Kylo-11 (LPA target) is the world's first small nucleic acid product with clinical trial results achieving a "once-a-year" dosing regimen.A single subcutaneous injection can achieve a 95% reduction in Lp(a), with the effect lasting over a year. Moreover, its dosage is much lower than similar products, offering higher safety and greater convenience of use. In addition to Kylo-11, Hejiya currently has three clinical projects, including ApoC3 siRNA, GalNac-conjugated THR-β agonist, and the chronic HBV siRNA product Kylo-04.

3. Raynovent GLP-1 Drug Authorization

On January 16, raynovent, a holding subsidiary of Zhenzhong Pharmaceutical, signed a "License Agreement" with Qilu Pharmaceutical. raynovent authorized Qilu Pharmaceutical to manufacture and commercially sell RAY1225 injection in China, while raynovent retains all rights, ownership, and interests of the product's licensed intellectual property, as well as overseas rights, including but not limited to clinical development, manufacturing, new drug registration, sales, and marketing.

RAY1225 Injection is an innovative peptide drug with a novel structure independently developed by Raynovent, featuring dual agonist activity on GLP-1 and GIP receptors. Thanks to its excellent pharmacokinetic properties, it has the potential to be an ultra-long-acting drug administered once every two weeks.Raynovent will receive an upfront payment and milestone payments totaling 1 billion yuan.

4. WuXi AppTec's Revenue Exceeds Expectations

On January 12, WuXi AppTec predictedRevenue in 2025 is approximately 45.456 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of about 15.84%.Revenue from continuing operations increased by approximately 21.40% year-over-year; net profit was approximately 19.151 billion yuan, representing a year-over-year increase of about 102.65%.

Previously, WuXi AppTec had raised its full-year guidance for 2025, expecting revenue growth from continuing operations to be between 17%-18%, with total revenue in the range of 43.5 billion to 44 billion yuan. Clearly, this data has exceeded expectations.

5. Multiple pharmaceutical companies issue earnings warnings

January 12,Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd. disclosed its first annual loss announcement in 15 years since its listing, with an estimated net profit loss attributable to shareholders of RMB 10.698 billion to RMB 13.726 billion for 2025, representing a year-on-year decrease of 630%-780%.Core reasons include a decline in public willingness to get vaccinated, leading to lower-than-expected sales of key products such as the HPV vaccine, and significant impairment provisions for near-expiry inventory and accounts receivable.

January 12,Yibai PharmaceuticalAlso issued a preliminary loss warning, expecting the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company for the fiscal year 2025 to be negative.Dizhe PharmaceuticalsAfter Two Products Included in Medical Insurance, Sales Revenue Surged by 122%; Annual Product Sales Revenue Expected to Reach Approximately 800 Million Yuan but with a High R&D Investment of 860 Million Yuan; Net Loss for 2025 Estimated at Around 770 Million Yuan, Decreasing Losses by 8.98% Year-on-Year. January 14,EuphorbiaAnnounced earnings forecast, expecting a net profit loss of 313 million yuan to 442 million yuan in 2025, representing a year-on-year decrease in losses of 18.22% to 42.07%, marking two consecutive years of losses.

1. Dongyangguang Innovative Drug Approved for Marketing

On January 16, the National Medical Products Administration approved the listing of "Ologlitrazole Capsules," a Class I innovative drug independently developed by Yichang Dongyangguang Changjiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.Improve Blood Glucose Control in Adult Patients with Type 2 DiabetesProvides a new option.

This SGLT-2 inhibitor antidiabetic drug is the first innovative antidiabetic drug approved for marketing by HEC Pharm, and also the first domestically self-developed SGLT-2 inhibitor with full intellectual property rights in China. Specific data show that the primary efficacy endpoint HbA1c was reduced by 1.01% and 0.94% in the 50mg and 20mg monotherapy groups of Ologliflozin, respectively. Compared with other SGLT-2 inhibitors with statistically significant postprandial 2-hour blood glucose data, Ologliflozin demonstrates superior reductions in both fasting blood glucose and postprandial 2-hour blood glucose.

(Source: Jian Shi Ju, Author: Miao Miao)