Chinese Drugmakers Strike Record $136 Billion in Cross-Border Licensing Deals

In 2025, Chinese pharmaceutical companies achieved a record $135.7 billion in cross-border out-licensing deals, highlighting the country's rapid rise as a central hub in the global pharmaceutical supply chain. This outpaced the previous year's $51.9 billion, which occurred across 94 deals, by a substantial margin–the 2025 figure was spread across 157 transactions. Out-licensing allows foreign partners to develop, produce, and commercialize drugs initially created by Chinese innovators, evidencing the country’s growing influence in key drug development areas such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and immunotherapy. Multinational firms turned to China to access its growing pipeline and offset looming patent cliffs, while local Chinese firms navigated the challenges and opportunities of sustaining these high-value international partnerships. [para. 1][para. 2][para. 3]

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. emerged as the leader among Chinese pharmaceutical companies, securing $16.7 billion in deal value for 2025. The company’s most significant deal was a co-development partnership with GSK PLC for up to 12 innovative treatments targeting respiratory, autoimmune, and oncology diseases, valued at approximately $12 billion including a $500 million upfront payment. Additionally, in March, Hengrui licensed a cardiovascular drug to Merck & Co. Inc., attaining a $200 million upfront payment and up to $1.77 billion in potential milestone payments, as part of its push toward overseas markets and revenue growth. [para. 4][para. 5]

GeneQuantum Healthcare, based in Suzhou, captured the second-highest transaction value, owing mainly to a landmark deal signed in January 2025 with Biohaven Ltd. and Aimed Bio Inc. for the development of ADC therapy using GeneQuantum’s proprietary platform. At over $13 billion, it became the single largest out-licensing deal involving a Chinese innovative drug that year. [para. 6]

Innovent Biologics Inc., listed in Hong Kong, held the third position with more than $10 billion in deal value, led by an October collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which could be worth up to $11.4 billion. Other prominent contributors to China's 2025 pharma export surge included CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, 3SBio Inc., Argo Biopharma, Hansoh Pharmaceutical, and Remegen. [para. 7][para. 8]

According to the NextPharma database, 54 Chinese drugmakers were responsible for the record $135.7 billion, with the top 10 accounting for 60% of the aggregate value, while 22 companies inked smaller deals of less than $1 billion each but represented almost half the total deal volume. This trend was dominated by blockbuster transactions led chiefly by multinational pharmaceutical companies, who relied on Chinese innovation to strengthen their global product portfolios. [para. 9][para. 10]

The record 2025 deals reflected the maturation of Chinese pharma, marked by deepened talent, enriched pipelines, and robust supply chains. This evolution has turned China into an “innovation supermarket” for global buyers, chiefly multinational firms facing their own innovation pressures. [para. 11]

Risks accompany this boom, including competitive overcrowding in favored therapeutic areas, relatively low upfront payments, and the threat of deal terminations. Such volatility was evidenced when ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals reclaimed rights to two antibody drugs after ending a partnership with Axion Bio, demonstrating potential instability in the market. Nonetheless, global integration through licensing remains crucial for the industry's future growth, with a focus on moving beyond “fast-follower” or improved therapies to develop original, first-in-class drugs. [para. 12][para. 13][para. 14][para. 15]