(ECNS) - China approved 38 innovative drugs in the first half of 2026, including 11 domestically developed medicines featuring new targets or mechanisms of action. It signals an acceleration in the country's pharmaceutical innovation efforts, a National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) official said on Sunday.
The official said all 11 newly approved drugs were developed domestically, compared with four Chinese-developed products among 11 such approvals in all of 2025.
According to NMPA data, China approved a record 76 Class-1 innovative drugs in 2025.
The official said regulators approved what were described as the world's first bispecific antibody-drug conjugate, the first CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, and a monoclonal antibody targeting hepatitis B and D.
International demand for Chinese-developed medicines has also grown. Overseas licensing deals involving Chinese innovative drugs reached nearly $110 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with $135.7 billion for all of 2025, according to the official.
(By Zhang Jiahao)
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