Chinese Innovative Drugs Going Global Accelerate, License-out Deals Demonstrate Global Competitiveness
来源: 新浪财经 – 东吴证券报告
链接: https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/relnews/hk/2025-11-06/doc-infwnfyv5552139.shtml
# Industry Overview
According to the latest report from Dongwu Securities, the process of Chinese innovative drugs going global accelerated significantly in 2025, with both the number and amount of License-out deals growing. In the global pharmaceutical market pattern, the US accounts for 46.90% of global drug sales, while China accounts for only 1.58%, indicating a serious mismatch between industrial development and market potential. This means there is huge space for Chinese innovative drugs to go global.
# Market Data
## Domestic Innovative Drug Market Potential
Chinese innovative drug sales account for only 8.6% of total drug market sales, having nearly 10 times space compared to the US’s 81.79%. Chinese per capita innovative drug expenditure is relatively low, still more than 20 times lower than Japan and 124.9 times lower than the US.
## M&A Transaction Recovery
As of October 2025, there were 113 pharmaceutical M&A deals with a total disclosed amount of approximately $113.9 billion, a significant increase compared to the full year of 2024. Among them, there were 27 deals ≥$1 billion with a total disclosed amount of approximately $102.8 billion.
## Large M&A Cases
– Johnson & Johnson acquired Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion
– Novartis acquired Avidity Biosciences for $12 billion to obtain antibody-conjugated oligonucleotide (AOC) platform
– Merck & Co. acquired Verona Pharma for $10 billion
– Sanofi acquired Blueprint for approximately $9.5 billion
– Pfizer acquired Metsera for approximately $7.2 billion
– Novo Nordisk acquired Akero for $5.2 billion
# Commercial Insurance Directory Opportunities
## 2025 Commercial Insurance Directory Highlights
121 products outside the directory passed the preliminary review of the 2025 commercial insurance directory, opening space for innovative drug volume expansion. Among them, 79 products simultaneously passed the preliminary review of the basic directory and commercial insurance directory, including 12 monoclonal antibodies, 3 CAR-T therapies, 1 ADC, 1 bispecific antibody, and 2 Chinese patent medicines.
## CAR-T, ADC, Bispecific Antibodies as Main Force
42 products outside the directory only passed the preliminary review of the commercial insurance directory, the vast majority of which come from large domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson’s three bispecific antibodies, Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide tablets, and BeiGene’s zanicumab.
## Commercial Insurance Advantages
Commercial insurance leaves huge space for innovative drugs. Commercial insurance will determine the settlement price of drugs in the directory through negotiated pricing rather than negotiated price reductions. Products included in the commercial insurance directory will not be included in hospital drug ratio assessments, nor will they be included in DRG/DIP disease payment, and will not participate in centralized procurement substitution monitoring.
# Technology Trends
## CAR-T Therapy
A total of 7 CAR-T products have been approved for marketing in China, of which 5 have applied for the commercial insurance innovative drug directory. As a representative technology of cell therapy, CAR-T therapy is gradually gaining recognition from medical insurance and commercial insurance.
## ADC Drugs
Among ADC drugs, Gilead’s TROP-ADC sacituzumab, Wyeth’s CD22 ADC inotuzumab, and Astellas’s Nectin-4 ADC enfortumab will participate in this year’s commercial insurance negotiations.
## Bispecific Antibodies
Johnson & Johnson’s three bispecific antibodies (teclistamab, talquetamab, and amivantamab) reflect the rapid development of bispecific antibody technology.
## Going Global Models
## Two-Ship Going Global
Including BeiGene’s zanubrutinib, tislelizumab, and Beta Pharma’s ensartinib. To avoid geopolitical risks, Chinese innovative drug companies are accelerating global layout in the production segment.
## Borrowed-Ship Going Global
Cooperating with multinational pharmaceutical companies for development or licensing overseas rights. Junshi Biosciences, Legend Biotech, and others are cooperating or planning to build production bases with US-based CMOs.
# Company Commentary
As an important participant in the Chinese innovative drug industry chain, Wuhan Henrysintai is closely monitoring the accelerating trend of innovative drugs going global. We provide high-quality organic synthesis raw materials and intermediates for innovative drug companies, supporting the entire process from preclinical to commercialization.
In frontier fields such as CAR-T, ADC, and bispecific antibodies, we provide high-purity chemical raw materials and intermediates to meet the strict quality requirements of these innovative drugs. Particularly for ADC drugs, we have extensive experience and high-purity production capabilities in the synthesis of linkers and payloads.
As a promoter of domestic substitution, we are committed to helping Chinese innovative drug companies gain advantages in global market competition through self-developed high-performance chemical raw materials. Our high-quality standards can meet the strict requirements of international markets, helping partners’ products successfully go global.