Chinese Mid-Sized Biotechs Show Unprecedented Enthusiasm at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference’s Return to In-Person Format

Returning to an in-person format after a two-year hiatus, the highly anticipated 41st annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (hereinafter referred to as the JPM Conference) concluded last week. More than 5,000 publicly listed healthcare companies and innovative enterprises, along with over 50,000 entrepreneurs and investors in the healthcare sector, flocked from every corner of the globe to California, much like migratory birds.

The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is a widely recognized premier event in the biopharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, as well as the world’s largest gathering for medical investment and industry collaboration. An immense volume of information converges within just a few days, where it is interpreted and debated by participants seeking valuable signals that subsequently shape industry development trends and investment directions. Its invitation-only format and substantial ticket prices are also distinctive features.

However, over the past two years, all of this has been downplayed; due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held online for two consecutive years.

While online meetings have become highly convenient, face-to-face interaction remains crucial for both investment transactions and business collaborations: many deals are sealed not during tightly scheduled conference sessions, but through peripheral social activities afterward. The immense value of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference lies not only in the insights it offers but also in its role as a central hub for the industry, where companies can seek partners, capital, and projects.

Moreover, for most domestic innovative enterprises, attending the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference,Perhaps more importantly, on-site interactions allow for a tangible experience of the industry atmosphere, thereby bridging the “industry information gap” resulting from the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to foreign media reports, due to considerations of return on investment and the pandemic, attendees spent more time than in previous years deciding whether to attend, with many corporate executives only registering two weeks before the conference. However, the opportunity for face-to-face interaction once again was hard-won, and the atmosphere at the conference was vibrant. Attendees widely remarked that it remains the world’s premier medical conference.

In addition to large multinational pharmaceutical companies and star biotech firms, more than half of China’s innovative drug companies were present, with over 20 attending and delivering presentations to showcase their achievements and outline ambitious future plans. For instance, BeiGene reported a 109% year-over-year increase in sales and announced that ten new molecular entities will enter clinical trials annually starting in 2024. Innovent Biologics set a revenue target of RMB 20 billion within four to five years, highlighting promising non-oncology products such as PCSK9 inhibitors and GLP-1/GCGR dual agonists. Junshi Biosciences stated that nearly ten new drugs are expected to gain approval over the next three years. China Sino Biopharmaceutical indicated its comprehensive transition toward innovation, with 40 innovative drugs in development poised for market launch before 2030.

Some domestic innovative pharmaceutical companies are exploring pathways for global expansion, with several having already entered overseas markets in high-demand therapeutic areas such as oncology. To secure a foothold on the global stage, Chinese firms leverage the high visibility of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) for brand promotion, which helps further enhance the influence of China’s innovative drugs and serves to invigorate the development of the domestic industry.

Off-site China-related events surrounding the conference are also worth noting, such as the “WuXi AppTec Global Forum,” which has now reached its 11th edition and continues to gain prominence.

During the conference, Yafa Capital hosted the “ACCESS CHINA” networking dinner in San Francisco to facilitate connections between Chinese companies and overseas business development partners, marking the largest China-themed roadshow event during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

Jiang Xiaoyang, Founder and CEO of Yafa Capital, stated: “Unlike previous J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conferences, where large and mid-sized Chinese pharmaceutical companies took center stage, this year saw greater participation from executives of small and mid-sized biotech firms.“Compared with three years ago, we have also clearly felt an unprecedented level of enthusiasm from Chinese companies. In 2020, approximately 50 executives from Chinese pharmaceutical companies attended our reception dinner, accounting for around 30% of the total registrants. This year, the number of registrants from China alone has exceeded 120.”

For Chinese companies, actively expanding overseas and reducing information asymmetry serves to demonstrate their capabilities and identify more potential collaboration opportunities.

For instance, in the field of cell and gene therapy (CGT), industry experts have pointed out that domestic CGT companies have developed rapidly, driven by a dual-track regulatory model based on risk and stratification, as well as flexible and efficient clinical advantages. In fact, these companies have caught up with 5–10 years’ worth of U.S. achievements in just the past three years.

Many Chinese CGT companies’ underlying technologies are no longer inferior to those of their U.S. counterparts, with a trend of moving from parallel development to overtaking in certain fields, and their product pipelines are impressive in quality. In terms of supply chain, the market size and production capacity of domestic CGT CDMOs continue to break new ground, meeting the demands for process development and large-scale manufacturing of CGT products.

Some Chinese biotech firms have already developed a certain level of international competitiveness; leveraging in-person events to promote themselves would yield twice the results with half the effort.

On the other hand, the biotechnology industry has consistently seen exciting new technologies and breakthroughs, while the most cutting-edge developments often reveal their subtle signs only through face-to-face interactions.

Previously, in an interview with a former FDA new drug review expert, Arterial New Medicine was told directly that prior to the pandemic, in 2019, exchanges between China and other countries had been relatively close. Despite gaps in capabilities, Chinese companies were able to keep abreast of developments in the international industry and academia in a timely manner.As people become more accustomed to remote meetings, he believes that an information gap has re-emerged between China and other countries.

“If we could fly to the United States to attend conferences and converse with American scientists, we could still glean insights into emerging directions, even if their research is confidential. Relying solely on reading published articles would be too late; it takes at least two to three years for an idea to make its way from conception to publication. By the time we see it, it is no longer the latest development.”

Taking AI as an example, he pointed out that nearly every one of the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the United States has its own independent AI department, with an urgent demand for AI services and related talent. Most domestic AI-driven drug discovery companies are concentrated in the research phase, focusing on identifying molecules, targets, or synthetic routes. In contrast, clinical trial design in the development phase is a key focus for foreign AI-driven drug discovery companies, as leveraging AI technology to help pharmaceutical companies identify indications can more rapidly demonstrate their value.

The future of the biopharmaceutical industry is inevitably global, and participants clearly need an international perspective. In addition to domestic startups’ own efforts to maintain frequent exchanges with foreign counterparts, government industrial parks and investment service agencies with keen market insight have also taken action to help Chinese healthcare enterprises connect with overseas markets and capital.

For example, when pandemic control policies were just relaxed last month, BioBAY immediately dispatched a team to Europe to assess changes in the biomedical ecosystem over the past few years. In France, they exchanged insights and explored cooperation opportunities with leading local bioparks; in Germany, they engaged with research institutions on mechanisms for translating basic research into applications; and in Basel, Switzerland—a major hub for the pharmaceutical industry—BioBAY held an investment promotion conference.

Similarly, Yafa Capital, after co-hosting approximately 500 online roadshows for global innovative pharmaceutical companies with CHBD during the pandemic, has decided to return to in-person events, establishing platforms for Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises in key overseas markets such as Boston and Japan.

Looking back at the inaugural J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) in 1983, the event lasted only one day and attracted just 20 companies and approximately 200 attendees. It resembled more of a “roadshow” for biotechnology: cutting-edge biotechnologies and promising biotech companies were presented to investors, enabling them to recognize the sector’s substantial growth potential while allowing nascent companies or technologies to secure capital interest and support. Industry giants of today, such as Genentech, Regeneron, and Gilead Sciences, all rose to prominence on this stage.

We look forward to the day, some years from now, when we can look back on the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and share stories of Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies stepping onto the global stage.