Global Drugmakers Tap Chinese Biotech for Novel Cancer Therapies

A wave of multibillion-dollar deals is dramatically reshaping the pharmaceutical industry, as major international players like Pfizer Inc. and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. increasingly turn to China’s rapidly developing biotech sector in search of the next major drug breakthroughs. This shift is motivated primarily by the looming expiration of patents on current high-revenue drugs, propelling Western pharmaceutical companies to pursue innovative, late-stage assets from abroad. Chinese biotech firms, once regarded as copycats, have now emerged as genuine innovators, especially in areas such as oncology and rare diseases, and are attracting significant attention from global pharma giants. [para. 1][para. 2]

Partnership activity between global and Chinese firms is accelerating at a remarkable pace. In the first quarter of 2025, the total value of deals involving Chinese pharmaceutical companies soared by 222% compared to the previous year, according to Pharmcube. The number of deals also grew by 34%, but the dramatic leap in total value reflects the sheer scale of recent transactions. Nearly half of the 11 international pharmaceutical deals exceeding $1 billion during this period involved Chinese companies. Industry observers like Liu Dan from Pivotal bioVenture Partners note that while Chinese firms have gradually increased their licensing of assets in recent years, the expansion in 2025 is notably steep. [para. 3][para. 4]

Several high-profile deals highlight this trend. In May 2025, Pfizer agreed to pay $1.25 billion upfront to China’s 3SBio Inc. for an anti-tumor drug, in a deal that could ultimately surpass $6 billion in total value. Soon after, BioNTech SE and its partner Bristol Myers Squibb announced a blockbuster $1.5 billion upfront deal for a cancer therapy initially sourced from Chinese startup Biotheus Inc. This surge in deal-making was predictable: between 2020 and 2024, the total value of outbound licensing from Chinese pharmaceutical firms jumped from $4.85 billion to $52.26 billion—a compound annual growth rate above 80%, far outpacing the global average of 10%. In 2024 alone, 124 outbound licensing deals from China covered 152 products or technologies, making China second only to the United States in deal value and upfront payments. [para. 5][para. 6]

A major driver behind this activity is the so-called patent cliff—by 2030, 69 top-selling drugs will lose patent protection. To avoid steep drops in revenue, pharmaceutical giants are shifting away from internal research and development toward acquiring promising late-stage assets, particularly those developed in China. Data from IQVIA shows that major pharma companies accounted for only 28% of oncology clinical trials in 2024, a sharp decline from 60% in 2015, illustrating a shift from early-stage development to adopting advanced Chinese innovations. [para. 7][para. 8]

Next-generation therapies, especially PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which simultaneously target cancer cells through multiple mechanisms, are central to global pharma shopping lists. Pfizer’s recent deal with 3SBio, for example, highlighted the value of combining Chinese bispecific antibody therapies with established ADC product lines. Nearly all ongoing clinical trials for these advanced cancer drugs now originate in China, cementing its leadership in specific biotech niches. While Chinese assets are typically sold for only 30% to 50% of the price of comparable Western-developed ones, these deals remain highly profitable for Chinese companies, thanks to lower local costs and increased international funding opportunities. [para. 9][para. 10][para. 11][para. 12][para. 13][para. 14]

For Chinese biotech firms, licensing to global players is a strategic move rather than a final exit, providing international market access and broader collaboration prospects. While competition for partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies is intense, analysts suggest that deals with smaller or mid-sized overseas firms could also be beneficial, offering products a central role in development pipelines. Overall, the ongoing wave of partnerships is opening the door to future global collaborations, establishing China as a biotech powerhouse. [para. 15][para. 16][para. 17][para. 18][para. 19][para. 20]