People's Daily: Extreme Low Prices Will Not Win Across the Board in VBP; Innovent's IBI3001 Posts First ESMO Data

Pharma & Biotech Briefing

China's drug-procurement rules tighten against extreme low bids while Innovent's first-in-class ADC posts early clinical signals; Hansoh locks in a landmark Roche deal

Chinese state media drew a line under the country's years-long drive to slash drug prices, as the People's Daily published a commentary on Oct. 15 declaring that "extreme low prices will not win across the board"—a signal that volume-based procurement, or VBP, is shifting from a single-minded pursuit of the cheapest bid toward a multi-dimensional framework weighing price, quality, supply reliability and compliance.

The commentary followed the seventh batch of national high-value medical-consumable VBP in September, which introduced a "double-standard-deviation" price anchor designed to weed out both abnormally high and abnormally low bids. Under the new rules, a bid below two standard deviations of the qualifying average price may be accepted but will not be guaranteed purchase volume. A new "non-volume resurrection" mechanism allows bidders who accept prices no higher than 1.5 times the circuit-breaker threshold to qualify—but without committed procurement volumes.

The article cited the example of endoscopic hemostatic clips: one company bid 7.4 yuan (about $1.02) on the spot, while the product's general bid floor is no less than 20 yuan ($2.76) and actual shipment prices typically range from 26 to 30 yuan ($3.59–$4.14). In the 12th batch of national drug VBP, which opened in Shanghai, companies submitting extreme low prices were required to file a "bid-reasonableness declaration," and their bids were excluded from volume allocation and did not count toward qualifying slots.

For companies with scaled manufacturing, cost discipline and complete quality systems, the rule change is a valuation-repair signal. For small consumables makers that relied on extreme-low-price strategies, it creates consolidation pressure. In the near term, winning bid prices for some categories may rise; over the medium to long term, the direction points toward "premium pricing for premium quality" and rising industry concentration.

Innovent's First-in-Class EGFR/B7H3 ADC Posts Early ESMO Data

Innovent Biologics disclosed the first clinical results for IBI3001, the world's first EGFR/B7H3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate to enter human trials, at the ESMO 2026 congress. The Phase I data readout marks an early milestone for a molecule designed to simultaneously cover both "driver-gene-positive" and "broad high-expression" tumor populations.

IBI3001 carries an exatecan payload with a drug-to-antibody ratio of 4. As of the March 31, 2026 data cutoff, the Phase Ia cohort had enrolled 57 patients—40 in China and 17 in Australia—with a median follow-up of 6.4 months. The primary dose groups were 6 mg/kg (n=28) and 8 mg/kg (n=22).

Among 50 evaluable patients, the overall confirmed objective response rate was 28.0% (26.9% at 6 mg/kg; 38.9% at 8 mg/kg), and the disease-control rate was 88% (reaching 100% in the 8 mg/kg group).

Subgroup results were notable. In EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (n=16), the ORR was 31.3% with a median progression-free survival of 7.0 months. In small-cell lung cancer (n=6), the ORR was 66.7%. In pancreatic cancer (n=13), the median PFS was 7.0 months. Most strikingly, in a biomarker-positive population defined by EGFR and/or B7H3 membrane H-score of 100 or above (n=8), the ORR reached 87.5% with a 100% disease-control rate.

On safety, grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events occurred in 47.4% of patients, with anemia and declines in white blood cells and neutrophils most common. No treatment-related deaths were reported. Phase Ib dose optimization is underway, with results expected to be presented as an oral report on Oct. 24.

The 87.5% ORR in the biomarker-positive subgroup suggests that dual-expression screening could become the core development strategy for IBI3001. However, the Phase I sample sizes are extremely small—most subgroups contain only single-digit to low-teen patients—and the nearly 50% rate of grade 3+ adverse events underscores that payload toxicity remains the main constraint on dose optimization. The molecule's true value will depend on the reproducibility of these signals in Phase Ib and, eventually, Phase III.

Hansoh and Roche Lock In Landmark ADC Platform Deal

In one of the largest combination-type ADC transactions between a Chinese drugmaker and a multinational in the past year, Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group announced on Oct. 19 a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Roche covering a portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates—the pair's second ADC partnership.

The deal spans one ADC project portfolio comprising two Hansoh preclinical ADC programs plus multiple additional projects built on Hansoh's proprietary ADC platform against targets proposed by Roche. Hansoh will lead early-stage development through completion of a global Phase Ia; Roche will take over post-Ia development in all territories outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Hansoh retains full Greater China rights.

Hansoh will receive an upfront payment of $400 million plus a $110 million payment on the first anniversary of the agreement, and is eligible for potential development, regulatory and commercialization milestones exceeding $15 billion, along with tiered royalties. Hansoh also holds an option to designate up to two projects for participation in development outside Greater China, with additional upside from U.S. commercialization of those two programs.

The deal structure upgrades the paradigm from single-molecule licensing to "platform plus multi-project" binding: Roche supplies targets, Hansoh supplies the platform. Hansoh caps its early-stage investment risk at the Phase Ia boundary while preserving Greater China rights and U.S. upside on two projects. In an ADC landscape where targets are highly competitive, platform-level bargaining power is replacing single-asset dealmaking as the new model for Chinese biotech partnerships with multinationals.

JT Bioscience Teams With Eli Lilly on AI-Designed LNPs

In a deal that sells "delivery-platform capability" rather than a single molecule, JT Bioscience (7666.HK) announced on Oct. 19 a strategic collaboration with Eli Lilly focused on novel lipid-nanoparticle delivery solutions. Under the agreement, JT Bioscience will leverage its proprietary AI-driven ionizable-lipid discovery and optimization platform—AiLNP, built on what the company describes as the world's first AI nano-delivery platform (NanoForge) and a library of tens of millions of lipids—to develop next-generation delivery technologies that improve LNP targeting and in-vivo tissue distribution.

JT Bioscience will receive an upfront payment of more than $10 million and is eligible for development, regulatory and commercial milestones totaling up to approximately $1.1 billion, plus tiered royalties in the single-digit percentage range on annual net sales of collaboration products.

Unlike molecule-level licensing deals, this transaction monetizes JT Bioscience's accumulated expertise in AI lipid design and multi-organ targeting as a repeatedly licensable technology base for multinationals. The upfront is modest, but the milestone structure preserves long-term upside—and provides a quantifiable pricing benchmark for the AI-pharma business model.

Henlius's H Drug Posts U.S. Bridging Data Showing OS Advantage

Shanghai Henlius Biotech disclosed that its PD-1 inhibitor serplulimab (brand name Hansizhuang; European trade name Hetronifly) had 10 studies selected for ESMO 2026. The most closely watched is the U.S. bridging study ASTRIDE (HLX10-005-SCLC301E), selected for oral presentation on Oct. 26.

ASTRIDE is a head-to-head comparison of serplulimab plus chemotherapy versus atezolizumab plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment for extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer in U.S. patients. As of the Feb. 18, 2026 cutoff, with a median follow-up of 14.1 months, the serplulimab arm achieved a median overall survival of 12.4 months versus 10.2 months for the atezolizumab arm. The 24-month OS rates were 32.2% and 17.6%, respectively, with overall safety profiles described as comparable.

The study enrolled 201 U.S. patients across 63 centers between July 2022 and October 2025—101 in the serplulimab group and 100 in the atezolizumab group—making it the largest completed ES-SCLC clinical trial by U.S. enrollment. The trial was independently executed by Henlius's U.S. clinical and regulatory team.

This is one of the few instances in which a Chinese PD-1 inhibitor has shown a numerical advantage over the U.S. standard of care in a randomized trial conducted in the American population. However, ASTRIDE's statistical design is descriptive only, and the serplulimab arm had a higher baseline rate of liver metastases (49.5% vs. 40.0%). Whether the OS benefit will translate into regulatory approval will depend on further discussions with the FDA and the broader support of the ASTROM-005 global data.

GSK's B7-H3 ADC Clears Key Safety Hurdle With First Global Data

GSK disclosed the first global clinical data for risvutatug resetecan (Ris-Rez), a B7-H3-targeting ADC derived from a Hansoh Pharmaceutical license, in relapsed extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer. In the dose-optimization portion of the Phase Ib EMBOLD PanTumour-101 trial, with a median follow-up of 100.5 days as of Feb. 18, 2026, the confirmed objective response rate among 40 evaluable patients was 61% (11 of 18) at 8 mg/kg and 32% (7 of 22) at 6 mg/kg.

Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events occurred in 42% of patients at 8 mg/kg and 15% at 6 mg/kg, with hematologic events most common. The overall incidence of interstitial lung disease was just 2% (one case, Grade 2, among 50 patients).

The data are highly consistent with the Chinese Phase III ARTEMIS-008 results presented at WCLC in September, which showed an ORR of 58.3%, and support GSK's selection of 8 mg/kg for the global Phase III EMBOLD SCLC-301 trial. The ARTEMIS-008 trial demonstrated an OS of 18.5 months versus 10.3 months.

ILD has been the most dangerous development obstacle in the B7-H3 ADC track, with multiple candidates failing because of it. Ris-Rez's 2% ILD rate, combined with a clear dose-response relationship, clears a critical safety gate. However, the Ib follow-up is only about 100 days, and the long-term toxicity and delayed-onset ILD risk at 8 mg/kg will require longer follow-up in Phase III. The decisive test will be whether SCLD-301 can replicate ARTEMIS-008's OS benefit in Western populations.

China Grand Pharma's TLR7 Agonist Nears Breakthrough Therapy Status for Hepatitis B

China Grand Pharmaceutical (1177.HK), through its subsidiary Chia Tai Tianqing, announced that its Class 1 new drug TQ-A3334—an oral TLR7 agonist—has been proposed for inclusion in the CDE's breakthrough-therapy designation program for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection, with a public comment period running through Oct. 26.

TQ-A3334 works by activating TLR7-mediated innate and adaptive immune pathways, inducing interferon and cytokine responses to reshape the body's anti-HBV immune response. It is designed to complement the direct antiviral action of nucleos(t)ide analogues, with the goal of achieving a "functional cure" for hepatitis B rather than mere viral suppression. Phase II 48-week efficacy and safety results have been accepted as a Late-Breaker abstract at AASLD 2026, to be presented orally on Nov. 9 by Professor Tang Hong of West China Hospital, Sichuan University.

Combined with the same day disclosure of core-protein allosteric modulator TQA3605 (a Phase III trial with 930 enrolled patients), Chia Tai Tianqing has assembled a three-pronged hepatitis B pipeline spanning viral suppression, immune activation and antisense oligonucleotides.

In Brief

Ribogen swaps shares for full control of Swedish unit. Ribogen (06938.HK) announced on Oct. 19 a share-swap agreement to acquire the remaining 49.71% of its Swedish subsidiary Ribocure Pharmaceuticals AB, issuing 14,087,085 new H shares—roughly 7.63% of the enlarged share capital—to take its stake from 50.29% to 100%. Founded in Gothenburg in February 2022, Ribocure serves as Ribogen's global clinical-development and business-development hub, with five drug-discovery and preclinical programs, two nearing IND filing and two major out-licensing partnerships.

Eye-drop treatment for presbyopia wins FDA nod. Opus Genetics and Viatris announced on Oct. 16 that phentolamine mesylate ophthalmic solution 0.75% (branded Nyxol) received FDA approval for presbyopia in adults, based on positive results from the Phase III VEGA-2 (n=333) and VEGA-3 (n=569) trials. The drug, previously approved as RYZUMVI for reversal of pharmacologically induced mydriasis, works through a miosis mechanism to improve near vision while preserving distance vision, with onset within one hour. Viatris holds U.S. commercialization rights.