Top 10 Chinese Innovative Drug Outbound Deals in 2025: Key Signals and Strategic Shifts

In 2025, China's innovative drug exports reached a new level, achieving a dual leap in both scale and quality.

Data shows that in 2025, the total number of China's innovative drug BD outbound licensing deals reached 157, with upfront payments totaling $7 billion, and the total transaction amount reaching a staggering $135.655 billion — setting new historical records in terms of transaction scale, frequency, and coverage of therapeutic areas.

Notably, the entry threshold for the top ten annual transaction amounts has risen to over $3 billion, significantly increasing the "value content" of leading transactions; meanwhile, the proportion of diversified cooperation models such as Newco and Co-Co has notably increased, becoming a new trend in the industry.

As the "barometer" of industry development, the top ten overseas transactions of the year conceal key signals of the international advancement of China's innovative drug sector. So, what new industry logic do these leading transactions reveal?

/ 01 / Qide Biotech’s $13 Billion Overseas Expansion: ADC Fever Continues

In 2025, Qide Pharmaceutical secures the top BD deal with a total transaction value of $13 billion.

On January 24, 2025, QuidMedicine reached a significant agreement with Biohaven and AimedBio. The deal includes the co-development rights for the first-in-class FGFR3 ADC drug GQ1011 and multi-target innovative ADC drugs based on conjugation platform technology licensing, covering the development of ADC drugs for a total of 21 targets.

This "auspicious start" transaction at the beginning of the year directly set the tone for the ADC track in 2025: ADC remains highly sought-after. Indeed, in 2025, multiple ADCs successfully entered the global market, with Enhertu continuing to expand its therapeutic boundaries.

Against the backdrop of multiple MNCs having clearly established pipeline layouts, domestically produced ADCs continue to gain momentum in BD transactions. Data shows that by 2025, China-produced ADCs have completed 25 BD collaborations, with a total upfront payment of $1.772 billion and a total transaction value reaching $37.7 billion, both setting new historical records.

What sets Qide Biopharma's collaboration apart from previous cases is that it signals to the market that ADC deals are no longer limited to single products but are now focused on entire technology platforms. Qide Biopharma’s R&D layout across 21 targets represents a "land-grab" strategy for targets in yet another round of ADC technology competition.

/ 02 / Hengrui Pharma's $12.5 Billion Overseas Expansion, COPD Drug Heat Explodes

Hengrui Pharma Still Features Prominently in the Overseas Expansion Rankings.

On July 28, 2025, Hengrui Pharma and GSK reached an agreement to jointly develop HRS-9821 and 11 ongoing projects, covering multiple therapeutic areas including respiratory, autoimmune and inflammation, and oncology. The upfront payment is 500 million USD, with a potential total amount of up to 12.5 billion USD.

The core project of this transaction is HRS-9821, a dual-target inhibitor of PDE3/4, where PDE3 mediates bronchodilation and PDE4 is responsible for anti-inflammatory regulation, naturally fitting the disease characteristics of COPD. Its dry powder inhaler formulation has obtained clinical trial approval from the NMPA.

Two months before the deal, GSK's IL-5 monoclonal antibody mepolizumab received approval for its new indication of COPD. This transaction aims to strengthen GSK's competitiveness in the respiratory disease sector.

In terms of pricing, this deal is benchmarked against the already approved product Ensifentrine. In July 2024, the FDA approved Verona Pharma's PDE3/4 inhibitor Ensifentrine for COPD, followed by Merck's acquisition of Verona in July 2025 for approximately $10 billion. The difference lies in the fact that Ensifentrine is currently only available as a nebulized inhalation formulation, whereas HRS-9821 boasts a dual formulation combination of "inhalation powder + inhalation suspension," covering the entire course of COPD treatment.

Hengrui Pharma's expansion overseas further reflects the increasing activity in the COPD market.

/ 03 / Innovent Biologics Exports for $11.4 Billion, Co-Co Model Drives Globalization

China's Innovative Drugs Going Global: Models Continue to Evolve.

On October 22, 2025, the $11.4 billion collaboration between Innovent Biologics and Takeda Pharmaceuticals clearly reflects this trend.

The collaboration is based on three core assets: Among them, IBI-363 is a PD-1/IL-2 bispecific antibody fusion protein independently developed by Innovent; IBI-343 is an ADC targeting CLDN18.2; and IBI-3001 is a B7-H3/EGFR bispecific antibody ADC. As cancer treatment enters the 2.0 era of "IO+ADC," these three core drugs demonstrate significant clinical potential and promising application prospects.

As important as assets, the transaction model is crucial. The Co-Co (Co-Development, Co-Profit) model adopted by Innovent Biologics and Takeda Pharmaceutical, where both parties share costs at a 40/60 ratio and split profits, has changed the traditional "selling the seedlings green" licensing model, representing greater ambition from China's innovative pharmaceutical companies.

This transaction model has enabled Innovent Biologics to gain cash flow and equity investment in the short term, while in the long term, it will accumulate R&D, registration, and commercialization capabilities through global collaboration. This also supports Innovent Biologics in advancing the implementation of its "2030 Globalization Strategy." Additionally, as one of the few successful examples of Asian pharmaceutical companies achieving globalization, Takeda Pharmaceutical's experience holds significant reference value for Innovent Biologics.

It is expected that in the practice of the Co-Co model, Innovent Biologics will bring more referable successful experiences for Chinese innovative drugs to go global.

/ 04 / 3SBio’s $6 Billion Overseas Expansion: Traditional Pharma Steps into the Spotlight

In the past few years, the main players in BD deals have been biotech companies, but in fact, the innovative strength of China's pharma is not inferior. In 2025, 3SBio took action to tell the market: traditional pharma will not remain low-key either.

On May 20, 2025, the licensing deal between 3SBio and Pfizer set multiple industry records. The total potential value of this transaction reached $6.05 billion, with an upfront payment as high as $1.25 billion, directly establishing a new record for the highest upfront payment in the history of China's innovative drug exports. The $1.25 billion upfront payment alone is equivalent to approximately four times 3SBio's net profit attributable to shareholders in 2024, providing an immediate improvement to the company’s cash flow.

The core reason for such a high pricing lies in the clinical certainty of the pipeline itself. The key asset of this transaction, SSGJ-707, is a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, which belongs to a typical IO2.0 pipeline. Prior to the deal, the drug had received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the CDE for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with positive PD-L1 expression and advanced to Phase III clinical trials. The pivotal Phase II clinical data showed that the objective response rate (ORR) of monotherapy was as high as 70.8%, while the ORR of combination therapy with chemotherapy reached up to 81.3%. Both efficacy and safety were significantly better than single-agent PD-1 treatment.

From the perspective of both the industry logic of innovative drugs returning to value and the catalysis of market sentiment, this deal is highly significant. It not only set a new record for the upfront payment and total amount of China's innovative drug exports but also quickly ignited market sentiment.

/ 05 / XtalPi 5.9 Billion USD Collaboration, China's AI Drug Development Goes Global

Among the top ten BD deals in 2025, AI companies made an appearance.

On August 5, 2025, XtalPi announced that it had officially signed a significant pipeline cooperation agreement with DoveTree, with a total order value of approximately HKD 47 billion (approximately USD 5.99 billion).

According to the agreement, the two parties will collaborate on several innovative drug assets at the preclinical stage, including both large and small molecules, and will develop new drugs targeting a series of designated targets by DoveTree.

The large-scale cooperation agreement reached with DoveTree this time represents a further implementation and amplification of the "AI-CRO model." Compared to the model where AI pharmaceutical companies exchange single pipelines for licensing fees, this "selling capability" business model has more advantages in terms of sustainability and better aligns with the core demands of large pharmaceutical enterprises for R&D certainty and efficiency.

This collaboration not only sets a new record for the largest order scale in the field of AI and robotics jointly empowering new drug development but also signifies that the era of deep integration of Chinese artificial intelligence technology into new drug discovery has arrived.

/ 06 / Bowang Pharmaceutical Over $5.36 Billion, Small Nucleic Acid Drugs Gain Momentum

In the 2025 large BD rankings, small nucleic acid drugs have returned to a central position.

On September 3, 2025, Bowang Pharma and Novartis reached a collaboration on the siRNA pipeline with a total potential value exceeding $5.36 billion. According to the agreement, both parties will jointly explore the combination therapy of BW-00112 (hyperlipidemia siRNA) for treating dyslipidemia. The agreement also includes Novartis’ option to license next-generation molecules from Bowang Pharma’s pipeline. This marks the second deal between the two companies; in January 2024, Novartis acquired the core product BW-00163 (hypertension siRNA) for an upfront payment of $185 million and a total potential value of $4 billion.

Behind the two deals is Novartis' "doubling down" on its cardiovascular pipeline. The cardiovascular disease sector has always been a key focus for Novartis, but its blockbuster drug Entresto is approaching patent expiration, creating an urgent need for new drugs to fill the gap.

Novartis' confidence in siRNA stems from the previously acquired siRNA drug Leqio from MDCO, which has been FDA-approved for first-line treatment of adult hypercholesterolemia and requires only one injection every six months. Its peak sales are expected to exceed $3 billion, which has also driven up the scale of siRNA transactions.

This year, siRNA deals have exploded, with the total value breaking through 30 billion yuan. Bowang Pharma has once again proven with this deal that when small nucleic acids meet chronic diseases, the industry ceiling is completely opened.

/ 07 / CSPC Group’s $5.33 Billion Overseas Expansion: A Promised Goal Achieved

Over the past year, capital's pursuit of BD deals has become increasingly feverish. Some companies, driven by needs such as market value management, have started to proactively disclose forward-looking BD progress updates. CSPC Pharmaceutical Group is a typical representative of this trend.

On May 30, 2025, CSPC announced that multiple products, including EGFR ADC, are currently in the BD cooperation negotiation stage, involving three potential transactions.

The announcement clearly mentioned that the total amount of potential upfront payments, milestone payments, and commercial royalties for each transaction is approximately 5 billion US dollars, with one of the transactions already in its later stages and expected to be completed in June.

On June 13 of the same year, the $5.33 billion collaboration between CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and AstraZeneca marked the beginning of the implementation of预告式BD.

According to the agreement, CSPC will utilize its AI technology platform to discover preclinical candidate drugs (PCC) with multi-indication potential for multiple targets selected by AstraZeneca. For each PCC, AstraZeneca has the right to exercise an option to obtain global exclusive authorization, including an already specified oral small molecule preclinical project for immune diseases.

However, there is no new information on the remaining two transactions for CSPC.

/ 08 / Harbour BioMed’s $4.57 Billion Overseas Deal: A New Paradigm for MNC Investment in Chinese Pharmaceutical Companies

The first few BD deals were about competing technology routes, but the partnership between Harbour BioMed and AstraZeneca is a "deep binding."

On March 21, 2025, Harbour BioMed announced that AstraZeneca will subscribe to 9.15% of the company's shares at a price of $1.38 per share, with a total consideration of approximately $105 million. After the transaction is completed, AstraZeneca will become one of Harbour BioMed's significant shareholders. Additionally, both parties announced an in-depth collaboration on next-generation therapies, including the licensing of two of AstraZeneca's preclinical immunology projects and the co-development of future next-generation biotherapies such as ADC and TCE.

According to the agreement, over the next four years, AstraZeneca will continue to nominate research and development projects to HBM and retain corresponding licensing options.

Harbour BioMed's BD capabilities have been repeatedly and fully validated, having previously completed multiple BD collaborations with MNCs such as BMS and Pfizer, and this current collaboration marks the third partnership between AstraZeneca and Harbour BioMed.

The two parties will also jointly build an innovation center in Beijing to support the long-term advancement of BD projects. This structure indicates that AstraZeneca is not only "securing drugs" but also locking in a source of innovation with long-term sustainable output.

Clearly, this represents a new paradigm for MNCs investing in Chinese pharmaceutical companies.

/ 09 / RemeGen's Telitacicept Goes Global with a $4.23 Billion Deal: A New Path to Maximizing Value

Rongchang Bio's core product Telitacicept has reached a milestone in "going global" —

On June 26, 2025, Rongchang Bio announced a cooperation agreement totaling $4.23 billion with VorBiopharma, a Nasdaq-listed company. VorBio will obtain exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize Telitacicept outside of Greater China; Rongchang Bio will receive a $45 million upfront payment and $80 million in equity certification (entitling the purchase of 320 million shares of VorBio), as well as milestone payments of up to $4.105 billion. Additionally, Rongchang Bio will also receive high single-digit to double-digit royalties.

This model of cooperation with capital-based partners and overseas listed companies, characterized by "upfront payment + milestone payment + revenue sharing + equity," bears some similarity to the licensing deal between Akeso Biopharma and Summit. Compared to traditional multinational pharmaceutical licensing models, it demonstrates significant differences in terms of clinical development efficiency, resource allocation, and revenue structure.

RemeGen's transaction this time also bears the distinct color of a new paradigm for innovative drugs "going overseas." RemeGen will hold 320 million shares of VorBio (accounting for about 23%), indicating stronger bargaining power in the early stage and more say, as well as an impressive lineup of participating investors. The success stories of this "golden combination" are too numerous to mention.

The discussion about which "going global" model innovative drugs should choose has never stopped, but for innovative drug companies, the bottom line is that the one that suits them is the best. For Rongchang Bio's Telitacicept, a broad-spectrum drug with the potential to become the "king of autoimmune drugs," perhaps this transaction model is the optimal solution for maximizing its value.

/ 10 / Yuansi Shengtai Peptide 3.4 Billion USD Overseas: Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies Bet on Chinese Technology

The last transaction on the list once again points to AstraZeneca.

In March 2025, Yuan Si Sheng Peptide and AstraZeneca reached a collaboration around its Synova™ intelligent high-throughput macrocyclic peptide drug discovery platform, with a total potential value of $3.4 billion. The deal also involves the R&D platform, including AI algorithm optimization, expansion of high-throughput screening equipment, and scaling up the construction of synthetic peptide libraries, focusing on oncology and chronic diseases.

The peptide platform advantage of Yuansi Shengtai has shown clear potential in the fields of rare diseases, autoimmune diseases, and metabolic diseases. For AstraZeneca, this transaction will help advance the progress of innovative drug research and development in the future, creating a multi-point growth layout.

Notably, at the end of the year, Yuan Si Sheng Peptide completed its Series A and A+ financing rounds, with AstraZeneca directly leading the investment. This is consistent with AstraZeneca's strategy in projects with Hengrui Pharma and others — not only buying capabilities but also investing in the future.

Obviously, in the frontier technology field, MNCs have saturated their layout and deeply bound themselves to Chinese assets.

/ 11 / Summary

Looking back at the landmark BD deals of China's innovative drug sector in 2025, the real changes go far beyond the rise in transaction amounts. From the popular ADC and IO tracks to cutting-edge fields like siRNA and AI-driven drug discovery, the logic of transactions has shifted from concentrating bets on a single advantageous pipeline to competing for technology platforms with sustained output capabilities. The era of BD 2.0, led by MNCs in a "platform grab," has truly arrived.

At the same time, the international development of China's innovative drugs has reached a new level. The rise of new BD transaction models such as NewCo and Co-Co clearly demonstrates the desire of Chinese pharmaceutical companies to enhance their voice in the process of internationalization.

Looking back from a critical juncture in the industry's development, the flurry of BD deals in 2025 appears to be a clear confirmation of direction, marking that China's innovative drug sector has moved from "individual breakthroughs" to a phase of collective efforts characterized by "platformization and internationalization."

By 2026, we look forward to more exciting stories from China's innovative drug exports.

       Title: Top Ten Overseas Expansions of China's Innovative Drugs in 2025: What Signals Are Being Sent?