From "Emerging" to "Pillar": An In-Depth Analysis of the Change in Biomedical Identity in the 2026 Government Report

In the 2026 government report, we can see the "promotion" of the biopharmaceutical industry.

The Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress convened in the spring, a season of renewal. As attention focused on the description of new quality productive forces in the government work report, a subtle yet profound change quietly unfolded.

Looking back at 2025, biomedicine was listed as an "emerging industry" for cultivation; in the 2026 report, a significant adjective was added before it — "pillar." The report explicitly proposed to "build emerging pillar industries such as integrated circuits, aerospace, biomedicine, and low-altitude economy."

From "Emerging" to "Pillar," a seemingly two-character difference actually represents a "qualitative leap" in industrial status. This is not merely a change of terms, but also an affirmation of a decade of transformation in the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as a strategic reshaping of the future economic landscape.

To understand this change, we must extend the timeline back to 2015 — the historic “722 Clinical Verification"Storm." That year, China's pharmaceutical industry underwent a "bone-scraping detoxification"-style transformation, with the bubble of clinical false data thoroughly burst. At that time, China's innovative drugs accounted for less than 5% of the global pharmaceutical market. It was this "self-revolution" that opened the curtain on the reform of drug review and approval.

The following decade became the golden ten years for China’s biopharmaceutical industry, transitioning "from nothing to something" and "from imitation to innovation." In 2017, China joined the ICH (International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use), marking the full alignment of China's drug regulatory system with international standards. In 2018, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Rule 18A allowed pre-revenue biotech companies to go public, opening up a financial lifeline for innovative drug enterprises. By 2024, the central and local governments in China further increased industrial support, introducing the new concept of "full-chain support for innovation," with policies covering every link in the industry chain, including basic science, financing support, drug approval, medical insurance, and market price management.

This series of groundwork has led to a concentrated outbreak in 2024-2025. Data shows that in 2024, the scale of China's innovative drug market is approximately $159.2 billion (approximately 1.15 trillion RMB), maintaining a global share of around 15%; the total amount of License-out transactions reached $51.9 billion, setting a new historical record. In 2025, China’s pharmaceutical innovation achievements further emerged in large numbers, with the National Medical Products Administration approving 76 innovative drugs for marketing, a historical record, of which over 80% are domestically produced innovative drugs. It is precisely this transformation from a "policy lowland" to a "technological highland" that gives biopharmaceuticals the confidence to move from "emerging" to becoming a "pillar."

In 2026, it will be clearly positioned as a "pillar," indicating a fundamental shift in the national-level perception of the industry:

1. From "Optional Question" to "Mandatory Question":Against the strategic backdrop of seeking new economic growth points, addressing population aging, and ensuring national health security, biomedicine is no longer an optional scientific exploration but a "core asset" that must be firmly grasped. As academician Cao Xuetao of the Chinese Academy of Engineering puts it: "In the past, we always felt that innovation in first-class new drugs was out of reach, but now when we look back, we realize we are already on the other side of the mountain."

2. From "Single-point Breakthrough" to "Systematic Operation":"Pillar" implies the extension and driving effect of the industrial chain. It must not only be strong itself but also drive the coordinated development of upstream and downstream industries such as new materials, artificial intelligence, and high-end manufacturing. The Deloitte report pointed out that "full-chain support for innovation" provides comprehensive support for the entire value chain of the life cycle of innovative drug development, aiming to enhance the overall competitiveness of the industry and increase the breadth and depth of innovation within the industry.

3. From "Following and Running Side by Side" to "Partially Leading":China's R&D Capability in Innovative Drugs Has Achieved a Historic Leap

Every word in the government work report is written with real achievements. The reason why the biomedical industry has been "upgraded" to a pillar industry is backed by several sets of inspiring data.

1. The "China Speed" of Approval Processes

By legislating clear time limits, China's drug approval process has shifted from a discretionary "gatekeeping" function to a "delivery" system that promotes innovation. The state supports the reduction of clinical trial approval timelines for eligible innovative drugs to 30 working days. Of the 48 Class 1 innovative drugs approved in 2024, 17 were approved for marketing through an expedited review and approval process, 11 were conditionally approved, and 13 were included in the breakthrough therapy drug program during clinical trials. The time from market approval to inclusion in the medical insurance catalog for innovative drugs has decreased from about 5 years to approximately 1 year.

More noteworthy is China's system-level advantage in R&D efficiency. The McKinsey report points out that in the drug discovery phase from target identification to IND application, Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies can advance 2-3 times faster than their international counterparts. In fast-follow small molecule drugs, China can even achieve a compound acceleration of 50%-70%—the time it takes for American companies to complete one IND submission, Chinese companies can do two and a half. In the clinical development stage, Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies can recruit patients 2-5 times faster than international peers, with the cost per patient being only half of that in Europe and America. This "China speed" has made "China first" a new trend of global attention in the pharmaceutical industry.

2. "China's Seat" in Global Innovation

Ten years ago, Chinese pharmaceutical companies were mostly "followers" on the global innovation stage. Today, in cutting-edge fields such as ADCs (antibody-drug conjugates), bispecific antibodies, cell and gene therapies, the global share of Chinese R&D projects has become significant. Taking ADCs as an example, China-produced ADC new drugs account for over 40% of the global pipeline. In 2024, China approved 48 Class 1 innovative drugs, second only to the 50 in the United States, making China the world's second-largest region for first-time approvals. In the global pipeline of drugs under research, the proportion of projects in China has risen to 26.7%, second only to the United States at 49.1%.

More emblematically, the amount of China's innovative drug out-licensing transactions has achieved explosive growth. The proportion of China's innovative drugs in global pharmaceutical transactions surged from 10.8% in 2015 to 52.5% in 2025, surpassing more than half of the global share for the first time. In 2025, the total amount of China's innovative drug out-licensing exceeded 130 billion US dollars, with over a hundred transactions completed throughout the year. Multiple major collaborations worth tens of billions of yuan emerged during the year. Cooperation models also evolved from simple licensing to deeper synergies involving joint development, shared risks, and shared benefits.

3. The "China Value" of Commercial Returns

BeiGene'sZanubrutinibGlobal sales reached $2.6 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 105%, becoming the first domestically developed anti-cancer new drug from China to be listed in the U.S. Akeso Biopharma's bispecific antibodyEvoXIn a head-to-head Phase III clinical trial comparing single-agent therapies, it achieved a median progression-free survival of 11.14 months, significantly outperforming pembrolizumab (K-drug) at 5.82 months, becoming the world's first drug to demonstrate significantly superior efficacy over K-drug in a head-to-head trial.

These breakthroughs are backed by ChinaBiotechThe Emergence of Competitive Advantages Differentiating Chinese Companies from U.S. Counterparts. From January to August 2025, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index remained under continuous pressure, with over 20 American Biotech companies shutting down. Meanwhile, Chinese Biotech firms, leveraging their differentiated advantages in R&D efficiency, cost, and clinical resources, have become strategic partners for multinational pharmaceutical companies addressing the "patent cliff." As industry observers have noted: "The differentiated characteristics and 'high cost-effectiveness' of Chinese Biotech companies have attracted large-scale 'buying sprees' from MNCs, who are casting their votes for China's innovative drugs with 'real money.'"

After being positioned as a "pillar," how can this pillar be made to stand firm and stable? The 2026 government work report did not mention biomedicine in isolation but placed it within a complete set of policy combinations. The core contradiction in the current industry has shifted to the imbalance between "advanced R&D capabilities" and "urgent breakthroughs needed in source innovation and an urgently needed improvement in market payment." To resolve this contradiction, a "dual-wheel drive" is required.

1. Ecological Construction of the Whole Industry Chain

Building pillar industries cannot rely solely on breakthroughs in research and development. From the national to the local level, a comprehensive support system covering R&D, evaluation, production, and application is taking shape.

At the central level, since the launch of the National Major Special Project for Innovative Drug Development in 2008, a total of 84 Class I new drugs and 41 innovative traditional Chinese medicine drugs have been approved for marketing, initially establishing a complete innovation chain encompassing "basic research-preclinical research-clinical trials-achievement transformation." The organization and implementation of the new phase of the Major Special Project for innovative drugs has been successfully launched in 2025, with the focus shifting to "driving product innovation through creation capabilities," achieving a transition from "tackling 10 categories of major diseases" to "planning based on China's disease spectrum," forming a collaborative innovation pattern with "enterprises as the main body, research institutions as support, and clinical application at the core."

At the local level, cities with a concentration of biomedical industries, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangzhou, have successively released localized, full-chain support policies. The Jiangsu Free Trade Zone is promoting open innovation across the entire biomedical industry chain and exploring pilot programs for segmented production of biologics. Shandong is focusing on cell and gene therapy, establishing a provincial regional cell preparation center. Shanghai's Pudong district released the "Biomedical Industrial Park Functional Enhancement Plan (2025–2027)," proposing to surpass 100 billion yuan in biomedical industrial output by 2027. This policy synergy from the central to local levels provides fertile ground for the growth of pillar industries.

2. "Breaking the Barriers" in Payment

The "last mile" of innovative drug development is market access. In the past, the difficulty of "entering hospitals" had put many good drugs in an awkward situation of "peaking right after launch." Song Ruilin, senior president of the China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association, frankly stated that the biggest shortcoming of China's innovative drugs is "insufficient market inclusiveness": per capita expenditure on innovative drugs in China is only 1/24.4 of that in Japan, making it difficult to support high-intensity R&D.

Positive changes are underway in the policy direction for 2026. At the review and approval level, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has established "three channels" to encourage innovation, accelerate introductions, and allow temporary imports. In 2025 alone, 48 rare disease drugs were approved for marketing.

At the payment security level, a "1+3+N" multi-layer medical security system is accelerating its formation. In December 2025, the National Healthcare Security Administration officially released the first edition of the...Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug List》, this is the first national drug list specifically formulated for commercial health insurance in the history of China's medical security. The supporting "three exclusions" policy removes assessment barriers for innovative drugs to enter hospitals at the institutional level: not included in the self-payment rate index of basic medical insurance, not included in the monitoring scope of alternative varieties selected in centralized procurement, and cases covered by commercial insurance may not be included in the diagnosis-based payment scope.

At the local level, Shanghai's exploration is at the forefront. The "Shanghai Biomedical 'New and Excellent Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals' Product Catalog" has become a nationally promotable model — once a product enters this catalog, public hospitals are required to procure it unconditionally within one month,不受DRG/DIP限制, to ensure the "last kilometer" of innovative drug implementation through rigid constraints.

3. The "Cold Bench" Persistence of Original Innovation

"The 'pillar' should be judged not only by quantity but also by quality. Facing the new pattern of global pharmaceutical competition, the delegates have a clear understanding that the transition from 'general innovation' to 'hardcore innovation' is an inevitable path."

Sun Piaoyang, Chairman of Hengrui Medicine and a deputy to the National People's Congress of China, pointed out three major challenges: First, there is an urgent need to strengthen original innovation capabilities, with risks of homogenized competition becoming prominent; second, the mechanism for rewarding innovation value remains imperfect, and the payment system still requires optimization; third, international development remains a long and arduous task, with global competitiveness being tested. He proposed focusing on critical disease areas such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and autoimmune diseases, tackling core technologies, and enhancing the ability for groundbreaking innovation from 0 to 1.

Hao Haiping, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of China Pharmaceutical University, suggested creating an "ecological zone" suitable for original innovative drug research and development. This would bring together talent, capital, platforms, and other key elements to promote deep integration between universities, research institutes, hospitals, and enterprises, with the aim of achieving truly breakthrough therapies for several major diseases.

The development trajectories of many innovative pharmaceutical companies show that "going from 0 to 1 relies on the state, while going from 1 to N relies on the ecosystem." Basic scientific research and policies need to remain steadfast, and commercialization pathways must have a logic of return; otherwise, capital will only flow between hotspots. This also means that future policies will lean more towards supporting truly breakthrough therapies that address unmet clinical needs—so-called "global new" products—rather than simple fast-follow strategies.

Looking back from the spring of 2026, China's biopharmaceutical industry has undergone a magnificent transformation. From being cautiously nurtured as an "emerging industry" a decade ago to now standing as a "pillar industry" supporting high-quality economic development, this journey has been the result of the combined forces of institutional rationality, patient capital, and the courage of scientists.

Looking ahead, as the in-depth implementation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the approach of the 2035 long-term goals, the role of biomedicine as a pillar industry will become even more prominent. Emerging fields such as AI drug discovery, cell therapy, and gene therapy are beginning to show their potential, with China achieving "parallel running" or even "leading" in some cutting-edge technology areas.

The global positioning of China's biopharmaceutical industry will exhibit a "dual circulation" characteristic: In the domestic large circulation, a complete closed loop of "research and development - production - consumption" will be formed through healthcare insurance payment reforms and innovation ecosystem construction; in the international circulation, it will deeply participate in the global pharmaceutical industry division of labor through technology and product exports as well as capacity cooperation. Only when capital is patient, payment has room, and there is global cooperation can China's innovative drugs truly grow from "a product" into "an industry," moving from "single-point breakthrough" to "ecosystem win-win."