2025 Year-End Review: Pudong's Innovative Drugs Go Global – Key Highlights and Breakthrough Deals

Jan 19, 2026 20:32 CST Updated 20:32

3SBIOINC

Biopharmaceutical Manufacturer

Hansoh Pharma

Pharmaceutical Research, Production, and Sales

Looking back at 2025, Zhangjiang Pharm Valley accelerates the creation of a global launching site for innovative drugs and medical devices through institutional innovation, technological innovation, service innovation, and ecological innovation. The "Year-End Review" series of Zhangjiang Pharm Valley will summarize major developments of Pudong pharmaceutical companies in 2025, such as product approvals, BD transactions, financing and IPOs, and project construction. While reviewing the past, it also sets sail with renewed vigor and prepares for new beginnings. This article will focus on...2025 Years in PudongBD Deals Completed。

According to Zhangjiang Pharm Valley statistics: In 2025, Pudong reached 40 BD deals, coveringMonoclonal Antibody, Bispecific Antibody, GLP-1, ADC, PD-1, Small Nucleic Acid, AI Drug Development, presenting a diversified range of characteristics.

While focusing on advantageous pipelines, MNCs have also begun to pay attention to technology platforms with continuous output capabilities. From "product exports" to "platform exports," pharmaceutical companies in Pudong are entering a new phase of realizing the full-chain value of "R&D – export – approval for market launch – practical application."

Transaction Amount: A New Record, DemonstratingInternational Competitiveness

Top 5 Pharmaceutical BD Transaction Amounts in Pudong, 2025

(Zhangjiang Pharm Valley Chart)

In terms of transaction amount,3SBIOINC3SBIOINCMedicine&PfizerThe total transaction value exceeded 6 billion US dollars, the highest for the entire year. Among this, the upfront payment of 1.25 billion US dollars set a new record for the largest upfront payment in an outbound licensing deal.

On May 20, 2025, 3SBIO INC. announced that the company, along with its subsidiaries 3SBio Group and 3SBio Genetech, signed an agreement with Pfizer to exclusively license their self-developed breakthroughPD-1/VEGF Bispecific Antibody SSGJ-707Development, production, and commercialization rights globally (excluding mainland China).

According to the agreement, 3SBIOINC will receive a non-refundable and non-deductible upfront payment of $1.25 billion, as well as development, regulatory approval, and sales milestone payments of up to $4.8 billion. Wanlian Securities stated,In terms of the upfront payment, 3SBIOINC ranks first, and this transaction is expected to become a new benchmark for the out-licensing of biologics in China.。

Notably, the total amount of the top five BD deals in Pudong in 2025 exceeds $1.5 billion.

Among them, the second-rankedAolu PharmaAnnounced an overseas licensing deal exceeding $2.5 billion just nine months after its establishment.In December 2025, Aolu Pharmaceuticals reached a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Zealand, covering multiple novel drug development projects, to discover and develop innovative therapies for metabolic diseases.

According to the agreement, Aolu Pharma will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and an additional upfront payment of up to $30 million upon meeting predetermined conditions. In addition, Aolu Pharma will be eligible for subsequent development, registration, and commercial sales milestone payments, with a total amount of up to approximately $2.5 billion, along with tiered single-digit percentage royalties on global net sales of the collaboration products.

Hansoh PharmaThe two collaboration deals with Regeneron and Roche ranked third and fifth, respectively.。

On June 2, 2025, Hansoh Pharma announced that it had entered into a licensing agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, granting Regeneron the exclusive global license (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao) to develop, manufacture, and commercialize HS-20094. Under the agreement, Hansoh Pharma will receive$80,000,000An upfront payment and are eligible to receive payments based on the progress of the product's development, regulatory approval, and commercialization.Up to $1.93 Billion in Milestone Payments, and a double-digit percentage royalty on potential future product sales.

On October 17, 2025, Hansoh Pharma announced that it had licensed the global rights (excluding Greater China) for the CDH17 ADC new drug HS-20110 to Roche. Roche paid an upfront payment of $80 million, with potential milestones of up to $1.45 billion, as well as a certain percentage of sales royalties. The total value of the deal could reach $1.53 billion.

CinovisRanked at $1.54 billionFour。On May 30, 2025, Cinovent and Astellas announced that they had reached an exclusive licensing agreement for the CLDN18.2 ADC drug XNW27011, granting Astellas exclusive rights to develop and commercialize XNW27011 globally (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).

According to the terms of the agreement, Xinyu Cigna will receive an upfront payment of $130 million and is eligible to receive near-term payments of up to $70 million, as well as milestone payments related to development, registration, and commercialization that could reach up to $1.34 billion. Additionally, after the approval and market launch of XNW27011, Xinyu Cigna will also receive royalties on the product’s net sales.

Transaction Field:Bispecific Antibody andADCBecome “Cash Cow”

From a technical pathway perspective, ADC, bispecific antibodies, and GLP-1 are allGlobalPopular Fields.ADC and bispecific antibodies are the main forces in the current overseas market, with large amounts and high frequency, and are favored by MNCs.Favor.GLP-1 class peptide drugs are an emerging hotspot, and Chinese pharmaceutical companies have entered the forefront of global multi-target research and development.

ADC Field

In the ADC field，An increasing number of ADC drugs have completed high-value overseas licensing collaborations, and China has become the most important global innovation hub for ADCs. For instance, the aforementioned collaboration deals between Xennova and Astellas, as well as Hansoh Pharma and Roche, are all within the ADC field.

Pudong pharmaceutical companies upgrade from "exporting products" to "exporting technology + platforms". June 16, 2025,Simcere PharmaceuticalAnnounced the global rights (excluding Greater China) of the CDH6 ADC new drug SIM0505 have been licensed to NextCure. The latter will make related payments totaling $745 million, including upfront payments, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as additional sales royalties of up to double-digit percentages. This collaboration also includes licensing NextCure to use the proprietary linker and TOPOi payload from Simcere Zaiming's ADC technology platform for the development of a novel-target ADC currently in the preclinical stage. Simcere Zaiming will retain the rights to this novel-target ADC within Greater China.

Bispecific Antibody Field

In the bispecific antibody field,3SBIOINC/GuojianCompared with Pfizer,Orange Sail PharmaceuticalsWith Ollin Biosciences,Epimab BiotherapeuticsSuccessively reached cooperation deals with Juri Biosciences in 2025, covering multiple indications including tumor immunotherapy.

In April 2025, Orange Sails Pharmaceuticals reached an exclusive global licensing agreement with Ollin Biosciences for its self-developed first-in-class (FIC) bispecific antibody drug VBS-102. Orange Sails Pharmaceuticals will receive a total payment of up to $440 million and will also obtain a portion of Ollin's equity.

GLP-1 Field

In the GLP-1 field,Hansoh Pharma, Minwei BiotechCompanies in Zhangjiang Pharma Valley have all completed the out-licensing of GLP-1 related products. In addition,Zhangjiang pharmaceutical companies are also accelerating technological iteration, speeding up "breakthroughs" through oral alternatives to injections, multi-target synergistic upgrades, and other methods.。

AI Pharmaceutical Field

AI-assisted drug research and development has also gained recognition in the mainstream market. In November 2025,Insilico MedicineFor example, the company reached two deals last year:

On January 11, 2025, Insilico Medicine reached a second collaboration with Menarini and its wholly-owned subsidiary Stemline Therapeutics ("Stemline"). Stemline will obtain the global exclusive rights for the development and commercialization of one of Insilico Medicine’s preclinical candidate drugs, which has the potential to address significant unmet clinical needs in the field of oncology. According to the agreement, the total value of the collaboration exceeds US$550 million, including a US$20 million upfront payment and subsequent development, regulatory, and commercial milestones.

November 10, 2025, Insilico Medicine and multinational pharmaceutical companiesLillyExceeding $100 Million in Drug R&D Strategic Collaboration. The two parties will fully leverage the cutting-edge technological advantages of Insilico Medicine's self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery platform, Pharma.AI, combined with Eli Lilly's profound expertise in drug development and disease research, to jointly accelerate the discovery and development of innovative therapies.

The commercial value unleashed by AI-driven drug discovery has also successfully helped Insilico Medicine go public on the Hong Kong stock exchange — on December 30, 2025, Insilico Medicine was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becomingThe First AI Biomedical Technology Company to Go Public via the Main Board Listing Rule 8.05 of the Stock ExchangeThe total amount of funds raised in this initial public offering (IPO) was HK$2.277 billion, making it the largest biopharmaceutical IPO in Hong Kong in terms of funds raised in 2025. On the day of the Hong Kong stock market opening, Insilico Medicine's share price surged by 45.53%.

Trading Platform: Technology Goes Global, Platform Gains Further Market Recognition

Next-Generation ADC Technology Platform EZWi-Fit^®

(Image source: Shijian Biotech)

In recent years, in addition to deals on pipelines, the overseas expansion of technology platforms has also become a major new trend.Shijian BiotechIs a representative company. Only in 2025, ShineBio launched its EZWi-Fit.^®The platform has reached three external cooperation deals:

●April 25, 2025, Shijian Biotech and U.S.-based ConjugateBio Inc. jointly announced regarding EZWi-Fit^®Platform Reaches Exclusive Technology Option Agreement. According to the agreement, ShiJian Bio will be eligible to receive development, regulatory, and commercialization milestone payments exceeding 100 million US dollars, as well as tiered royalties based on global annual net sales.

●On June 12, 2025, Shijian Biotech and the U.S.-based biotechnology company Sovran Bio, Inc. jointly announced the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement. This collaboration aims to integrate Sovran's innovative biostructure design in the field of broad-spectrum disease targeting with Shijian Biotech's self-developed EZWi-Fit.^®Platform technology and rich R&D experience to rapidly advance multiple novel antibody and ADC drug candidate molecules into clinical trial stages. According to the agreement, both parties will jointly participate in the R&D of the collaboration projects and share the benefits arising from the cooperation outcomes.

●On June 16, 2025, Shijian Biotech and SunRock Biopharma announced a strategic alliance to jointly develop SRB123, a First-in-Class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting C-C motif chemokine receptor 9 (CCR9). This collaboration combines SunRock's proprietary SRB1 antibody with Shijian Biotech’s EZWi-Fit™ linker-payload platform to create a highly differentiated candidate drug specifically designed for solid tumors with high CCR9 expression and internalization rates. Under the agreement, both parties jointly filed a patent application in 2024 and hold reciprocal licensing options. The primary goal of the collaboration is to obtain robust preclinical proof-of-concept data to support the rapid advancement of SRB123 into early clinical studies.

In addition, on September 8, 2025, Shijian Biotech and Huahui Anjian jointly announced that they had reached an exclusive global co-development agreement for an undisclosed novel cancer target. They will collaboratively research and develop a potential First-in-Class ADC candidate drug.

This collaboration also involves EZWi-Fit, independently developed by Shijian Biotech.^®The ADC platform will leverage its technical advantages, combined with Huahui Anjian's capabilities in developing highly tumor-specific fully human antibodies, to achieve an organic integration of technology and innovation, making the ADC drugs from this collaboration more competitive and innovative in the market. According to the plan, both parties will jointly advance the ADC drug into the clinical stage, targeting indications that cover multiple solid tumor areas with unmet clinical needs.

In addition to continuously "refreshing" transaction records, the types of cooperation are becoming more diversified. Innovative drugs and technology platforms from Zhangjiang in Pudong are increasingly highlighting their commercial value. Looking ahead, Zhangjiang Pharmaland will rely on the international first-class business environment in Pudong to strengthen the full-chain innovation ecosystem from innovative sourcing, achievement transformation, capital empowerment to clinical application and innovative globalization, assisting innovative enterprises to accelerate their journey from laboratories to the global market.

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2025 Year-End Review | 8+6! Zhangjiang Pharma Valley Continues to Innovate, Accelerating the Creation of a Global Launchpad for Innovative Drugs and Medical Devices