8 November, 2025 admin 0 Comments 0 categories



The ferocity of China’s biopharmaceutical investment boom this year – fuelled by record-breaking licensing of commercial rights to global giants after a three-year slump – may have surprised casual observers.

But according to Helen Chen, one of the most respected analysts and advisers in China’s life sciences space, the supercharged sector’s real renaissance came two years earlier.

In December 2022, US drug maker MSD agreed to license global (excluding China) rights to develop and commercialise seven preclinical antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) cancer candidates from Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical, paying US$175 million upfront and up to US$9.3 billion in milestone payments.

“The Kelun – MSD deal was a significant milestone,” said Chen, who heads the Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical and life sciences practice L.E.K. Consulting. “There was a leap of faith for MSD to take a chance on Kelun – and for Kelun to make the investments.”

ADCs – “guided-missile” therapies that deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells with fewer side effects – are among the fastest growing areas of biotech.

Eight months later, private-equity-backed Aiolos licensed global rights for an asthma treatment from Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals for an undisclosed sum.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts