Breaking Down the Q1 Reports of Hengrui Pharma, BeOne Medicines, and BioKin Pharma: A Review of the Commercialization Performance of Innovative Drugs

In the first quarter of 2026, several data points were particularly noteworthy.

Hengrui Pharma’s innovative drug revenue accounts for over 61% of its total revenue. BeOne Medicines sees quarterly sales of zanubrutinib approaching 8 billion yuan, while RemeGen posted a net profit of 328 million yuan attributable to shareholders, yet its non-deducted net profit still remained negative.

In 2025, China’s innovative drugs continued to expand their global market influence, as reflected in a set of key data: the number of new drug pipelines under development accounted for approximately 30% of the global total.  In 2025, the total value of China's outbound licensing deals for innovative drugs exceeded $130 billion,  with more than 150 deals completed. Both figures surpass those of 2024 and hit a new historical high.

In the grand trend of the industry, how is the growth of domestic pharmaceutical companies? The positive cycle of promoting each other in R&D, commercialization, and BD is being established, but when it comes to specific enterprises, what proportion of their revenue comes from innovative drugs? Can they cross the threshold from the investment phase to the profit phase? And in what manner will they make this transition? These are the issues worth paying attention to.

Some companies saw their revenue scale shrink in the first quarter of 2026, while others are working hard to increase the proportion of innovative drug income.

In the first quarter of 2026, Hengrui Pharma's innovative drug sales revenue reached 4.526 billion yuan, increasing by 25.75% year-on-year, accounting for 61.69% of pharmaceutical sales revenue.

This trend is actually a continuation of the momentum from 2025.

In 2025, Hengrui Pharma's innovative drug sales revenue reached 16.342 billion yuan, accounting for 58.34% of pharmaceutical sales revenue, an increase of 8.7 percentage points year-on-year. In other words, for every 10 yuan Hengrui Pharma earns from drug sales, nearly 6 yuan comes from innovative drugs.

Behind this figure is the revenue from Hengrui Pharma's continued growth in oncology, metabolism and cardiovascular, immunology, and respiratory system drugs.

In the first quarter of 2026, the revenue from Hengrui Pharma's innovative drugs reached 3.313 billion yuan for anti-tumor products, increasing by 11.63% year-on-year, accounting for 73.20% of the total revenue from innovative drugs.

In the field of oncology, Retlirafusp alfa has been approved for combination use with fluorouracil and platinum-based agents as first-line therapy for locally advanced unresectable, recurrent or metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma with PD-L1 positivity (CPS≥1) confirmed via fully validated assays. In addition, multiple drugs targeting EZH2, HER2, VEGFR2, c-kit, PDGFR and other targets have obtained marketing approval one after another. In non-oncology areas, the long-acting PCSK9 monoclonal antibody Recasirant has been approved for sale, while the GLP-1/GIP dual agonist RuiPropotide is slated for launch in 2027.

Hengrui Pharma even provided guidance indicating that the revenue growth rate of its innovative drugs would exceed 30% by 2026, clearly stating its commitment to accelerating transformation and upgrading, and focusing resources to fully promote the rapid access of innovative products into hospitals.

In Hengrui Pharma's transformation, BD revenue also plays a significant role.

Its financial report shows that, since 2023, Hengrui Pharma has completed 12 overseas business expansion transactions, including different models such as out-licensing, NewCo, and strategic alliances, with a potential total transaction value exceeding 27 billion US dollars. The counterparties include Merck KGaA, MSD, GSK, etc.

Hengrui Pharma also regards the outward licensing of innovative drugs as part of its regular business. By 2025, related revenues reached 3.392 billion yuan, becoming an important component of its total revenue.

On the road to becoming a BigPharma, Hengrui Pharma is sprinting ahead.

According to the disclosed data, it is expected that about 25 NME Phase III trial data readouts will be available by 2026, covering core products including ADCs and GLP-1 analogs. The projected number of product launches from 2026 to 2028 will stand at 12, 22 and 19 respectively.

BeOne Medicines reported product revenue of 10.321 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 29.3%. The company's total operating revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was 10.544 billion yuan, marking a year-over-year increase of 31.0%. Net profit attributable to the parent company's owners in the first quarter of 2026 was 1.608 billion yuan.

The major contributor to the revenue is zanubrutinib (BRUKINSA)^®, with global sales totaling 7.598 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.5%.

However, there are also concerns in the industry. BeOne Medicines' revenue from zanubrutinib in the fourth quarter of 2025 was $1.146 billion, a 4.5% decrease from the previous quarter.

So, does this mean that the growth of zanubrutinib is approaching a plateau?

In fact, according to the data released by BeOne Medicines, the United States remains the company's largest commercial market, with zanubrutinib sales totaling 5.283 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.8%. Sales in Europe totaled 1.266 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 51.4%. Sales in China totaled 651 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.4%.

Overall in 2025, Zanubrutinib's growth rate in several major markets remains impressive. By region, in the U.S. market, Zanubrutinib's annual sales reached 20.206 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45.5%. In Europe, annual sales amounted to 4.265 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 66.4%. In China, annual sales were 2.472 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.1%.

What may require more attention is the pricing differences for innovative drugs across different markets, as well as whether the growth engine will slow down when penetration in a particular market has already reached a high level.

BeOne Medicines is still continuously playing its trump cards, such as Sotoclone (VCBeat®), a BCL2 inhibitor is expected to receive FDA approval in the second half of 2026, CDAC (BTK degrader) is expected to submit an accelerated approval application in the second half of 2026, and BGB-43395 (CDK4 inhibitor) is expected to initiate a Phase III trial for first-line treatment of breast cancer in the first half of 2026.

In addition, BeOne Medicines has made extensive arrangements in the field of solid tumors, aiming to build in-depth advantages in common cancer fields such as breast cancer, gynecological cancer, lung cancer and gastrointestinal cancer, and develop potential treatments. BeOne Medicines directly described its solid tumor R&D pipeline as "rapidly emerging".

On the other side of expansion, contraction is happening simultaneously. On May 11, 2026, BeOne Medicines announced the termination of six research projects, including several early-stage oncology pipelines such as the Pan-KRAS inhibitor, citing the optimization of resource allocation and a focus on zanubrutinib, tislelizumab and other core competitive varieties.

Fosun Pharma's disclosed financial report is further strengthening its tag of deep internationalization. In the first quarter of 2026, it achieved a revenue of 10.073 billion yuan, an increase of 6.93% year-on-year. The marketing applications for four innovative drugs were accepted, and clinical trial applications for 14 innovative drugs (by approval count) were approved by regulatory authorities both domestically and overseas.

Financial reports show that, as of the end of 2025, the innovative drug Serplulimab Injection (anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody) has been approved for marketing in over 40 countries and regions worldwide. In terms of overall revenue distribution, Fosun Pharma achieved operating revenue of 41.662 billion yuan in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.45%. Of this, revenue from innovative drugs accounted for 33.16% of pharmaceutical business income, while overseas business revenue accounted for 31.15% of total operating revenue.

There are voices in the industry viewing 2025 as the pivotal year for innovative pharmaceutical companies to transition from the investment phase to the payoff phase.

CITIC Securities pointed out that the R&D expense ratio of the Biotech sector has dropped from 47.34% in 2024 to 32.45%. The self-sustaining capabilities of biotech companies in China continue to improve, with revenue from product sales and milestone payments from BD licensing deals enhancing cash flow, which increasingly supports R&D investment. More and more biotech companies are expected to achieve a positive cycle where R&D and commercialization/BD mutually reinforce each other.

In 2026, more innovative pharmaceutical companies are expected to reach a turning point in profitability. So, let's take a look at the commercial performance of these innovative pharmaceutical companies.

In the first quarter of 2026, RemeGen achieved revenue of 656 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.76%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 328 million yuan, turning losses into profits.

However, the non-recurring net profit attributable to shareholders was -34.991 million yuan. Regarding the difference between the 328 million yuan net profit attributable to shareholders and the 34.99 million yuan, as well as the changes in performance, RemeGen stated that it was mainly due to the continuous increase in commercial product sales revenue, a reduction in R&D investment caused by product technology licensing, and changes in the fair value of warrants.

From the BD deal reached in March 2026 between RemeGen and AbbVie, the former licensed the PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody drug RC148 to AbbVie. On April 16, 2026, RemeGen announced that it had received a $650 million upfront payment from AbbVie.

2025 is also the first time RemeGen has achieved profitability in nearly five years. RemeGen stated that granting VorBiopharma the exclusive global development and commercialization rights to Telitacicept outside of Greater China has brought in substantial technology licensing revenue.

If the main business still suffers losses, BD (Business Development) serves as a timely help. In fact, RemeGen’s main business is in a growth phase. Its core products Telitacicept and Disitamab Vedotin have achieved rapid growth in domestic sales revenue. According to financial data, in 2025, Telitacicept sold 2.255 million units, a year-on-year increase of 47.92%; Disitamab Vedotin sold 301,900 units, a year-on-year rise of 27.31%.

Among them, Telitacicept, the world's first dual-target fusion protein, has obtained approval for the new indication of myasthenia gravis and was rapidly included in national medical insurance. Its indications for systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis keep achieving steady sales growth, and the marketing applications for IgA nephropathy and Sjögren's syndrome have been accepted.

Allist Pharmaceuticals achieved revenue of 1.584 billion yuan in Q1 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of 44.19%; its net profit hit 636 million yuan, up 54.94% year on year. The third-generation EGFR-TKI targeted drug fumetinib successfully renewed its access to the National Medical Insurance Catalogue for first-line and second-line treatment indications at the end of 2025. In addition, in February 2026, Furmonertinib was approved for marketing with a new indication for second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations.

Glecirasib (KRASG12C inhibitor) and Pralsetinib (RET inhibitor), introduced from external sources, were included in the national medical insurance catalog for the first time starting January 1, 2026. Driven by the new version of medical insurance, these two new products achieved revenues of 61.7073 million yuan and 23.6341 million yuan respectively in the first quarter.

In the first quarter, out of a total revenue of 1.584 billion yuan, Furmonertinib contributed 1.498 billion yuan, accounting for a high proportion of 94.6%. Currently, Allist Pharmaceuticals still relies heavily on a single product to drive performance, and the ability of new products to take over will depend on the results of the full sales year.

Still gaining momentum is Biokin Pharma. In 2024, Biokin Pharma received an $8 billion upfront payment after reaching an overseas licensing agreement with BMS worth up to $800 million. Its revenue for the year surged 936.31% to 5.823 billion yuan, with a net profit of 3.708 billion yuan.

In the first quarter of 2026, the situation worsened, with revenue falling below 100 million yuan, at just 94.59 million yuan, while losses soared to 775 million yuan. R&D investment reached 695 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.38%. Regarding this, Biokin Pharma stated that the reason was to accelerate the development progress of its product pipeline and consolidate its leading advantage in the product pipeline.

To assess the progress of R&D, it is important to mention that its EGFR×HER3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Iza-bren (BL-B01D1) is nearing the finish line, with the first set of indications for Iza-bren expected to gain approval and come to market by 2026.

Regarding the existing losses, Biokin Pharma attributed them to the transitional phase characteristic of innovative pharmaceutical companies moving from the R&D investment stage to the commercialization realization stage.

Many pharmaceutical companies have even proclaimed the leap from Biotech to Biopharma, especially those that have entered the first full year of sales growth after their core products were included in the National Medical Insurance Catalog.

But whether they can break through this threshold and how they will achieve it merits closer attention.