2021 H1 China Biopharma Review

China biopharma kicked off 2021 by grabbing Nasdaq’s first biotech IPO listing (Ticker: GRCL) on January 8th, followed by strong funding influx both domestically and from ex-China. Over 48 Chinese healthcare companies filed its IPO in 2021 H1, with total IPO gross proceeds greater than US$6.9 billion. Notably, ex-China VC/PE firms begin to establish its own China angle, either by direct investing or adopting the “Lianbio Model”.

The cross-border licensing activities kept up with good momentum. Although the majority lies in the in-licensing efforts of China biopharma, China out-licensing (14 closed in 2021 H1) is steadily boosted, opening a new era for China biopharma deals, transition from “China for China”, to “China for global”.

Driven by new regulatory policy in oncology, and enforced implementation of NRDL, China biopharma is vigorously pursuing innovations, either by in-house development or external collaborations, redirecting the strategical focus from “me too” drug to FIC/BIC.

While coping with the country mission to provide affordable healthcare, commercial health insurance gains more traction, providing alternatives for high-price drugs, such as CAR-T, which paves the way for the adoption of cell/gene therapy.

Looking forward, we expect China biopharma industry in 2021 H2 to grow rapidly, and play a significant role at the global stage.

As the premium cross-border advisory firm, MSQ Team will continue striving toward our mission, bringing innovative treatments to patients in need globally.

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