Dialogue with Sequoia China: Sticking to Innovation, China Has Become an Important Participant in the Global Biopharmaceutical Industry

Since its establishment in 2005, Sequoia China has been committed to discovering and nurturing innovative and entrepreneurial forces, investing in more than 1,600 enterprises both domestically and overseas. Among these, many companies with distinct technological characteristics, innovative business models, and high growth potential have emerged. Over the past 20 years, Sequoia China has become one of the most well-known investment institutions in China, possessing full-chain, full-stage, and full-cycle investment capabilities. More than 160 member companies have successfully gone public, and over 140 non-public companies have developed into unicorns.

Healthcare has always been one of the key areas of focus for Sequoia China. After nearly two decades of in-depth research and systematic investment layout, Sequoia China has invested in more than 250 companies in the healthcare sector, covering various subfields such as innovative drugs, medical devices, medical services, precision medicine, and digital health. Among these, over 50 companies have successfully completed IPOs on multiple stock exchanges, including A-shares, Hong Kong stocks, and U.S. stocks.

As a well-known investment institution in China, how does Sequoia Capital China view the capital market in the healthcare sector for 2025? What are their predictions for trends in 2026? VCBeat spoke with Yang Yunxia, a partner at Sequoia Capital China, and has compiled the conversation below for readers.

Carmen Yang, Partner of Sequoia China

VCBeat:Looking back at 2025, the IPO boom in the medical field should be an unavoidable topic. What changes do you think the boom has brought to the industry? What is the overall trend in 2025?

Yang Yunxia:The overall situation in 2025 remains relatively positive and optimistic. From the market perspective, as an increasing number of BD deals are announced, multinational corporations (MNCs) are showing growing recognition of China's biopharmaceutical industry. The Hong Kong stock market, particularly the biopharmaceutical sector, has also started to rebound significantly, quickly entering a thriving state. On the entrepreneurial front, the enthusiasm of more early-stage entrepreneurs is being inspired, and investors are becoming more actively involved in the industry. All these factors make 2025 a very fulfilling year.

In our view, the火热 market is actually an external manifestation, a presentation of results. The real substantial change that has occurred is that we are more certain than ever that China's biomedicine innovation has truly become one of the important participants in the global biomedicine industry, and China's innovation is also considered by everyone to be a significant source of global innovation.

VCBeat:What are Sequoia China's main investment directions and logic in 2025? Are there any highlights?

Yang Yunxia:Sequoia China's investment direction has actually never undergone major changes. On the one hand, as a very patient fund, from a fundamental perspective, we consistently focus on innovation and steadfastly engage in continuous communication with early-stage companies and entrepreneurs who possess entrepreneurial potential, then invest more in them. On the other hand, we have always believed that healthcare is a typical technology-driven market. To a certain extent, it may be affected by fluctuations in the capital markets, but its fundamentals will not undergo significant changes. Therefore, even when the capital market is not performing well, our investment strategy will not experience major shifts.

So in 2025, we are delighted to see that many of our invested companies have brought good news. At the recently concluded JPM conference, a company invested in by Sequoia China as the founding investor signed a deal with Novartis worth up to $1.665 billion. Another biotech company we invested in, which focuses on weight loss and metabolism, has seen its market value exceed $5.7 billion due to promising clinical data. We actually have quite a few similar cases.

VCBeat:What subfields in the healthcare sector does Sequoia China think are worth paying attention to in 2026?

Yang Yunxia:I think it can be viewed from two dimensions: disease areas and product forms.

In terms of disease areas, fields with large patient populations such as oncology, autoimmune diseases, neurology, and metabolism will continue to thrive. In recent years, there have been numerous BD transactions in areas related to neurology, metabolism, and chronic diseases, and this trend is expected to continue into 2026. Additionally, areas that some major companies have yet to focus on but have significant clinical needs, such as gynecology, nephrology, and ophthalmology, are also anticipated to see better solutions and more transactions emerge.

From the perspective of product forms, the molecular forms of drugs are constantly evolving. For instance, concepts such as ADCs, CAR-T, gene therapy, and small nucleic acid drugs have gained popularity in recent years. By 2026, these molecular forms will still be key areas of focus but will experience generational advancements. For example, ADC molecules will evolve from single-target/single-toxin to dual-target/dual-toxin, and small nucleic acid drugs will progress from single-target to dual-target molecules, among other developments. Opportunities for such product advancements will continue to emerge.

VCBeat:Will China-produced innovative drugs continue their strong performance globally in 2026? Has Sequoia China made any corresponding布局?

Yang Yunxia:I believe this trend will continue. The total amount of BD transactions for Chinese innovative drugs going overseas has basically increased tenfold in the past five years. I think this indicates at least two points: First, the interest of MNCs in coming to China to seek assets has been continuously increasing over the past five years; second, more and more Chinese innovative drug assets are starting to be truly recognized by overseas buyers. From paying attention to you to being willing to pay a premium for your assets, it also proves what we just mentioned: China has become an important participant in the global biopharmaceutical industry market. I cannot say whether BD transactions will reach another all-time high in 2026, but more overseas pharmaceutical companies are willing to come to China more actively and establish more exchanges with local investment institutions and startups. I think this trend will continue for some time.

VCBeat:What measures will Sequoia China take in 2026 to empower the rapid growth of its portfolio companies?

Yang Yunxia:In terms of helping businesses empower themselves, Sequoia China has been doing this for the past 20 years and has gained recognition from many industries and portfolio companies. Sequoia’s systematic post-investment empowerment efforts assist portfolio companies in meeting different needs, ranging from talent recruitment, capital market operations, enterprise management, to even financial management.

From the perspective of biopharmaceuticals, Sequoia China has also been committed to becoming a bridge for the business expansion and channel construction of its portfolio companies. For instance, we have established long-term communication mechanisms with many well-known overseas pharmaceutical giants and overseas investment institutions. On one hand, this helps us understand which areas these overseas giants are focusing on; on the other hand, with the permission of our portfolio companies, we proactively share some updates on their pipeline progress with these enterprises, thereby facilitating mutual exchange and support.

VCBeat:What characteristics do you predict the entire healthcare investment field will exhibit by 2026? How should companies respond?

Yang Yunxia:In fact, whether it's the capital market, investor awareness, or entrepreneurs' understanding, everyone is placing greater emphasis on true, global innovation. We also look forward to seeing more entrepreneurs with a global perspective and products with global competitiveness entering the market by 2026.

The 10th Future Healthcare 100 Summit 2026 will kick off in Shanghai from May 19th to 21st. This year’s conference focuses on the core of China's innovative healthcare assets, gathering over 8,000 industry and capital elites to explore the entire industrial ecosystem in fields such as digital healthcare, innovative medical devices, and novel drugs. The event aims to create diverse connections to activate global value. Meanwhile, the 2026 Future Healthcare 100 evaluation has been fully upgraded, with submission channels now open. We sincerely invite you to join the list, attend the grand event, and explore opportunities in healthcare innovation together!

As the core circle of friends for the conference and list selection, Sequoia China will also provide full support for this grand event.

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