China's pharmaceutical industry sees accelerated innovation breakthroughs in H1

(ECNS) -- China's pharmaceutical industry accelerated innovation in the first half of this year, with domestic companies steadily improving their R&D capabilities and growth momentum continuing to strengthen, data showed.

China's first broad-spectrum targeted anticancer drug entered clinical use at major hospitals across the country this year. It took only eight months to go from submission to market approval.

A total of 38 innovative drugs were approved for marketing in China in the first half, of which 31 were developed domestically, more than 80% of the total. Eleven drugs featuring new targets or new mechanisms were all developed independently by domestic companies, producing a number of world-first innovations. By the end of 2025, China had 4,751 innovative drugs under development, one-third of the global total and the largest pipeline of any country.

Behind this concentration of results lies a steadily strengthening industrial base. China has a complete pharmaceutical supply chain. It is not only the world's largest producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients but has also built a production system covering every pharmaceutical category.

This year, digital, intelligent, and green technologies have driven the industry's transformation and upgrading. 

At a biopharmaceutical company in Shanxi Province, a newly built AI-powered bio-computing center can identify the structures of millions of protein functional domains in a short time, screening out ineffective molecules directly.

To date, China has supported 21 pharmaceutical firms in building excellent-level smart factories and has cultivated more than 300 green factories. In the first half, the added value of pharmaceutical enterprises above the designated scale grew 6.4% year on year, and exports held strong.

The world's first chemotherapy-sparing drug for gastric cancer, launched this year, had already earned overseas revenue through licensing deals before it reached the market, and is now exported to multiple countries and regions.

In the first half, the total value of China's innovative drug out-licensing deals reached $110 billion, the industry's export delivery value grew 9% year on year, and high-value-added products made up nearly 20% of the total.

(By Tang Yuxian)