China's Pharmaceutical Industry Enters Consolidation Phase in 2026 with Surge in Equity Acquisitions

　　【Pharmaceutical Network Industry Dynamics】Recently, Lifetech Scientific announced that it plans to acquire approximately 96.46% of Starway Medical for about 1.8733 billion yuan. Starway Medical will become a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Lifetech Scientific. According to the agreement, Lifetech Scientific will not pay cash for this acquisition but will instead pay entirely through convertible bonds; both parties will enter into a formal acquisition agreement for the transaction by June 5, 2026.
 

Public information shows that Lifetech Scientific focuses on the research and development of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular interventional medical devices. It has currently established a variety of product series around three major solutions: structural heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and bradycardia. Starway Medical is a pioneer in China for congenital heart defect occluders, with several certified occluder products under its portfolio.
 

Through this acquisition, Lifetech Scientific aims to expand into the structural heart disease field, diversify its product portfolio, and achieve synergies in R&D, manufacturing, and sales. It is reported that the company will immediately gain a mature PFO occluder product and market share, filling another gap in its structural heart disease product line.
 

Notably, since 2026, capital operations involving equity acquisitions in China's pharmaceutical industry have been highly active. To acquire technology and production capacity, pharmaceutical companies are accelerating integration in细分 tracks with growth potential.
 

On May 21, Nanjing Pharmaceutical announced its plan to invest no more than 4.5 billion yuan to establish the Daqing M&A Fund in collaboration with Xingong Industrial Investment and Xingong Medical M&A Fund. This fund will specifically acquire 44.95% of Beijing Daqing Biological Technology Co., Ltd. and 50.98% of Lifetech Scientific (Shenzhen) Co., LTD., with a total transaction value of 7.47 billion yuan. Through this acquisition, Nanjing Pharmaceutical aims to strengthen its industrial layout in the medical device and biopharmaceutical sectors and enhance its integrated supply chain capabilities.
 

On May 18, Honghui Fruit & Vegetable announced that the company's board of directors had approved a proposal to increase the registered capital of its wholly-owned subsidiary. The company plans to inject an additional 4.8 billion yuan into Shanghai Tenghui. After this capital increase, the company will still hold 100% equity in Shanghai Tenghui.
 

On May 16, DaAn Gene released the "Progress Announcement on the Proposed Change of Indirect Controlling Shareholder." According to the agreement, upon completion of the transaction, Guangyao Capital will control a total of 374 million shares of DaAn Gene, accounting for 26.63% of the total share capital, becoming its indirect controlling shareholder.
 

On May 14, Rendu Biotechnology announced that the company's controlling shareholder and actual controller Ju Jinliang, along with six other shareholders, signed a "Share Transfer Agreement" with Nanjing Haijing Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company's controlling shareholder will be changed to Haijing Pharmaceutical.
 

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Overall, M&A in the pharmaceuticals industry in 2026 is shifting from "scale expansion" to "value upgrading." Companies are no longer solely pursuing increases in revenue volume but are instead focusing more on acquiring core technologies, scarce production capacity, and overseas market channels through capital means, thereby building more robust "barriers" in an increasingly competitive market. In the future, this wave of M&A is expected to drive China's pharmaceuticals industry towards a higher-quality development phase.
 

　　Disclaimer: In any case, the information or opinions expressed in this article do not constitute investment advice to any person.