China's Innovative Biopharma Firms Secure Over $37 Billion in Q1 2025 Through 40 Global Out-Licensing Deals

　　【Pharmaceutical Network Industry Dynamics】In the first quarter of 2025, the outbound wave of China's innovative pharmaceutical companies reached new heights. According to industry statistics, there were 40 BD transactions by China's innovative pharmaceutical companies in the first quarter, with a total value exceeding 37 billion US dollars, close to the level for the entire year of 2023. Key parties involved in these transactions include Genequantum Medicine, AimedBio, and Sciwind, with partners including large multinational pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca.
 

In terms of specific key transactions, on January 24, Genequantum Medicine (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. announced that it had entered into business cooperation agreements with Biohaven, a pharmaceutical company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States, and AimedBio, an innovative biotechnology company from South Korea. The collaboration includes the global development and commercial licensing of Genequantum's FIC ADC drug GQ1011, as well as the licensing of its innovative bioconjugation core platform technology, granting U.S. and South Korean partners the rights to develop ADC drugs for a total of 21 targets. The total value of this strategic business partnership exceeds $13 billion. Genequantum stated that these three agreements not only mark another successful licensing of the company’s innovative products but also represent significant progress in the high-throughput preparation and screening platform iDiscovery for XDC, as well as the company’s innovation empowerment strategy developed in recent years.
 

On March 24, Yuan Si Sheng Peptide, an innovative oral macrocyclic peptide drug research and development company, announced a partnership with AstraZeneca. According to the agreement, AstraZeneca will obtain the usage rights to Yuan Si Sheng Peptide's Synova™ proprietary technology platform. This intelligent high-throughput macrocyclic peptide drug R&D platform will help advance the development of innovative drugs targeting rare diseases, autoimmune disorders, and metabolic diseases, among other chronic conditions. For this, AstraZeneca will pay an upfront payment and near-term milestone payments totaling $75 million, with potential development and commercialization milestone payments reaching up to $3.4 billion, along with tiered royalties based on global sales.
 

On January 10, Sciwind announced that it had entered into a significant global development and commercialization licensing and collaboration agreement with Verdiva Bio Limited. This collaboration covers Sciwind's portfolio of multiple innovative therapeutic products, aiming to accelerate the globalization of these therapies, particularly in the treatment areas of obesity and other cardiometabolic disorders. The collaboration involves drugs such as oral Enotuglutide and oral amylin receptor agonists. Among them, oral Enotuglutide is a potential FIC once-weekly oral GLP-1 receptor agonist currently in preparation for Phase II clinical trials. GLP-1 agonists are effective in treating type 2 diabetes and obesity and have shown potential in treating other diseases. According to the collaboration agreement, Sciwind will receive an upfront payment of nearly 70 million US dollars and is entitled to potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments of up to 2.4 billion US dollars for the aforementioned products, as well as tiered sales royalties post-commercialization.
 

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Overall, the overseas performance of China's innovative pharmaceutical companies in the first quarter of 2025 has been remarkable, with a series of large BD deals highlighting their competitiveness and innovation capabilities in the global pharmaceutical market. Collaborations with international pharmaceutical giants have not only brought funding and resources to China’s innovative pharmaceutical companies but also advanced the global development and commercialization of innovative drugs. As these partnerships deepen, more innovative therapies originating from China are expected to benefit patients worldwide. Amid this surge, China's innovative pharmaceutical companies will continue to forge ahead on the path of innovation and R&D, writing a more brilliant chapter on the international stage and injecting greater vitality into the development of the global pharmaceutical industry.
 

Disclaimer: Under no circumstances shall the information or opinions expressed in this article constitute investment advice to any person.