The Rising Value of China's Innovative Drug Exports: From Early-Stage Assets to Global Late-Stage Pipeline Leaders

Text｜Amino Observation

The high quality of China's innovative drug BD assets is being repeatedly validated.

On April 14, GSK confirmed in a related disclosure at the SGO conference that it would advance the ADC project licensed from Hansoh Pharma into Phase III clinical development and designate it as a priority asset.

April 16,Hengrui PharmaPartner Kailera Therapeutics Successfully Listed on NASDAQ in the United States.

Even earlier, domestically produced PD-1/VEGF molecules successively entered international markets and became the next-generation IO pipelines that BioNTech, BMS, Pfizer, AbbVie, and other multinational corporations (MNCs) heavily invested in and prioritized, rapidly launching multiple global multicenter Phase III clinical trials across various fields.

The successive landing of significant milestones is also telling the market that the BD value of domestically produced molecules continues to rise.

/ 01 / From Early Exploration to Later Mainstay

In the past few years, market discussions on China's innovative drug BD assets have mostly focused on quantity and speed. Only a limited number of molecules possess true global competitiveness, are held long-term by MNCs, and progress to later-stage development; it is not uncommon for early-stage collaboration projects to be terminated due to unexpected data results or strategic adjustments.

For a long time, Chinese-produced molecules going overseas have always been associated with two labels: large quantity but low quality, and high return rates.

According to statistics, from 2020 to 2025, the "return rate" of licensed-out domestically innovative drugs is about 40%. This means a significant portion of authorized projects not only failed to complete all milestones but were even terminated in the early stages.

BMS Executives Stated at the JPM Conference, "The interesting aspect of China's innovative drugs is that we are able to test more projects during the early development stage, thereby obtaining clinical proof of concept more efficiently to see what works and what doesn’t." This indicates that, in the eyes of MNCs, China's innovative drugs serve more as a testing tool for early-stage research.

In 2025, this pattern is being completely broken, and more and more evidence shows that the status of China's innovative drug BD assets is changing.

According to statistics, by 2025, nearly half of China's BD assets will be advanced to Phase II and later clinical stages by MNCs, leaping from peripheral supplementation to become a core force in global R&D.

The two ADC projects licensed by GSK from Hansoh Pharma are prime examples. At the SGO meeting, GSK announced that a global Phase III clinical trial for B7H3 ADC HS-20093 in recurrent extensive-stage small cell lung cancer has been initiated. Additionally, a global Phase II clinical trial for osteosarcoma is underway, with plans to advance to a global Phase III clinical trial for osteosarcoma if progress remains favorable.

Another B7H4 ADC, mo-rez, is also regarded by GSK as a "priority asset." It is planned to initiate five pivotal global Phase III clinical trials in 2026 for first-line maintenance treatment of primary ovarian cancer, second-line endometrial cancer, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, ovarian cancer without homologous recombination deficiency, and mismatch repair-proficient endometrial cancer.

This is undoubtedly a phased, milestone achievement in the ADC overseas boom of the past few years. Of course, it's not just ADCs—amid global competition for emerging targets and mechanisms, China's innovative drug BD assets have also begun to take a dominant position.

Typical examples include PD-(L)1/VEGF bispecific antibodies, regarded as the next generation of IO therapies. Innovative drugs from China are globally leading in both quantity and progress.

Data shows that more than half of the PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibodies under development globally come from Chinese companies. Representative projects include AK112, SSGJ-707, RC148, IBI324, and BNT327. These products have gradually been acquired by various multinational corporations (MNCs), with both upfront payments and total deal values showing an increasing trend.

Moreover, as mentioned earlier, these assets have become the oncology pipelines that MNCs such as BioNTech, BMS, Pfizer, and AbbVie are heavily investing in and prioritizing, with numerous global multi-center Phase III clinical trials rapidly launched across various fields.

At the same time, MNC's emphasis on Chinese assets is also reflected in the evolution of cooperation models, extending from single project introductions to platform collaborations, and further to NewCo transactions for deep binding.

For example, Gilead's acquisition of Ouro Mmedicines, Connexia's overseas NewCo, for a $1.675 billion upfront payment and up to $500 million in milestone payments, essentially represents a forward-looking layout for its two self-immune pipelines with BIC potential. Meanwhile, the recent successful Nasdaq listing of Hengrui Pharma's NewCo, Kailera Therapeutics, further validates from the capital markets the growing global appeal of China's BD assets.

At any time, cold hard cash is the most persuasive. According to incomplete statistics, in the past six months, nearly 20 milestones in China's innovative drug overseas BD have been triggered, with a total payment amount exceeding 1.5 billion US dollars, of which up to 18 cases were triggered by pipeline progress, accounting for more than 95%.

China's innovative drug BD assets are gaining comprehensive recognition.

/ 02 / Let Clinical Data Speak

The rise in global status of China's innovative drugs is underpinned by an increasing number of overseas molecules, which have proven themselves with outstanding clinical data.

GSK Plans to Launch Five Phase III Trials of B7H4 ADC Mo-rez Covering the Entire Course of Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers, Reflecting Strong Confidence in Mo-rez. GSK Spokesperson Abdullah Stated in Response to Media Questions: "GSK Made This Decision Based on Two Independent Data Sets from BEHOLD-1, Which Consistently Showed Favorable Efficacy and Safety Profiles."

Specifically, in the platinum-resistant ovarian cancer cohort, the ORR of the mo-rez highest dose group reached 62% among 34 patients, while in endometrial cancer patients, the ORR of the highest dose was 67%. More than half of these patients had already undergone two or more treatment methods, belonging to a refractory population, with a conventional five-year survival rate of only 20-30% for such patients.

Also placed at strategic priority due to outstanding clinical data is Duality Biologics' B7H3 ADC DB-1311.

In 2023, DualityBio granted DB-1311 and DB-1303 to BioNTech for an upfront payment of $170 million and milestone payments of $1.5 billion. At the time of the deal, DB-1311 was still in preclinical stage, and BioNTech did not have clear clinical plans for the molecule.

At this year's JPM conference, BioNTech's presentation on its ADC pipeline focused on DB-1311 (BNT324) and announced plans to actively initiate a pivotal Phase III clinical trial for its first-line treatment of mCRPC, driven by the impressive efficacy data achieved in Phase I/II trials for mCRPC.

Data show that DB-1311 achieved an ORR of 42.3% (52/73) and a DCR of 90.4% in heavily pretreated mCRPC patients, being recognized by BioNTech as a BIC. In addition, BioNTech also highlighted the drug's potential for pan-cancer treatment and has initiated a Phase II clinical trial of DB-1311 as monotherapy or in combination with BNT327 for advanced metastatic solid tumors.

In non-oncology fields, China's innovative drugs in autoimmune and metabolic sectors have also shown outstanding performance.

On March 23, Gilead made a significant acquisition of Ouro Medicines. The core asset, BCMAxCD3 bispecific antibody CM336, originated from Connaught Medical, whose outstanding clinical performance in the autoimmune field was the key attraction for Gilead.

In clinical studies of patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, CM336 demonstrated excellent efficacy in patients who failed CD19 CAR-T therapy, with complete depletion of peripheral CD19-positive B cells lasting 3-6 months. In the indication of primary immune thrombocytopenia, CM336 also performed well, achieving complete and sustained depletion of peripheral B cells for over 5 months without the occurrence of CRS or ICANS side effects commonly associated with immunotherapy.

In the metabolic field, Kailera Therapeutics stated in its prospectus that its GIP/GLP-1 agonist Ribupatide demonstrates "superior" clinical efficacy compared to Zepbound.

Phase III clinical results of Ribupatide for the treatment of obesity showed that 44.4% of patients in the 6mg dose group achieved more than 20% weight loss in 48 weeks, while the phase III clinical trial of Zepbound demonstrated a 20.9% weight reduction in 72 weeks at its highest dose (15mg group). In terms of both dosage and speed of weight loss, Ribupatide demonstrated superior efficacy.

In addition, Kailera Therapeutics has two small-molecule assets for weight loss, also sourced from Hengrui Pharma. These molecules produced in China helped Kailera Therapeutics complete a US IPO worth $625 million, marking an important milestone in the capitalization of an overseas NewCo platform for innovative drugs from China.

It can be seen that more and more Chinese innovative drug assets entering the global system through BD are forging ahead with competitive clinical data.

/ 03 / Not by chance, but by necessity

NewCo's closed-loop, an increasing number of molecules going overseas are advancing to later-stage clinical trials abroad. The achievement of these milestones is not occasional but inevitable.

The core lies in the maturity of China's innovative drug development system, ranging from talent and technology to regulation. With the active participation of all parties, the domestic innovation ecosystem has gradually been established and reached initial maturity. It can be said that over the past decade, the influx of capital, policy support, and the ups and downs of countless pharmaceutical companies have intertwined, ultimately providing Chinese innovative pharmaceutical enterprises with an opportunity to take a seat at the table today——

From Trial-and-Error to Global Leadership: China’s Innovative Drugs Transition from Low-Cost Followers to BIC/FIC Pioneers, Taking Center Stage in Global Pharmaceutical Innovation.

McKinsey analysts stated: "China's current macro environment as a whole has created or nurtured an innovation-friendly atmosphere. This is reflected in various aspects, from a well-established regulatory framework to policies that encourage the development of industrial parks. Of course, China also boasts a large talent pool, especially in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields."

It is under the support of this systematic capability that the proportion of high-quality molecules in China's innovative drug supply continues to increase. This change is directly reflected in the BD market.

In the first quarter of 2026, the total amount of China's innovative drug BD broke through 60 billion US dollars, setting a new historical record. Among them, the proportion of platform-based cooperation and long-term binding models has increased significantly, indicating that MNCs' recognition of the quality of Chinese assets has turned into trust.

Once trust is established, the cooperative relationship shifts from one-time business development (BD) to deep binding involving multiple projects and platforms. Examples include Simcere Pharma's collaboration with BI on an AI-based peptide discovery platform, Insilico Medicine's partnership with Eli Lilly in the field of AI-driven target discovery, as well as Innovent Biologics' collaboration with Eli Lilly covering multiple early-stage pipelines in immunology and oncology, all reflecting this trend.

This trust has further opened up cooperation in the new technology track. In this round of BD deals, small nucleic acid drugs such as siRNA and microRNA have become hot directions, and MNCs' recognition and bet on China's capabilities in frontier technology fields are still strengthening.

Moreover, the weak position of China's innovative drugs in the global industrial chain is also changing.

According to data shared by the biopharmaceutical intelligence firm Evaluate with FierceBiotech, the average upfront value (including upfront payments and near-term achievable milestone payments) of China's innovative drug outbound BD has surged from US$52 million in 2022 to US$172 million so far in 2026, skyrocketing over 230% in just three years.

The upward trend continues. As of now, the average upfront payment value of disclosed outbound licensing deals for 2026 is 22% higher than the full-year average for 2025.

The wave of China's innovative drugs going global continues to surge. Perhaps it won't be long before we no longer see the so-called "selling of green seedlings" criticism.