(ECNS) - China's innovative drug industry is now expanding rapidly, with regulators approving 19 of these drugs so far this year alone. This includes 15 that were developed in China, while overseas licensing deals exceeded $60 billion in the first quarter, according to official data.
The figures, released by China's National Medical Products Administration, underscore Beijing's push to strengthen its pharmaceutical sector and reduce dependence on medicines abroad.
For China's current 'five-year plan', 230 innovative drugs have now been approved, with locally developed products accounting for more than 80% of approvals in 2025.
Chinese pharmaceutical firms have also increased various overseas partnerships with Fosun Pharma licensed its cancer drug serplulimab to Japan's Eisai earlier this year. In addition, China separately licensed an oral GLP-1 drug candidate to Pfizer in late 2025.
Hospitals are also beginning to adopt newer, domestically developed treatments for conditions such as stroke and influenza. Li Jingwei, a neurologist at Nanjing University Affiliated Suzhou Hospital, said a newly approved drug to help with ischemic strokes helped improve recovery.
Peng Jie, an infectious disease specialist at Nanfang Hospital in Guangzhou, said a newly launched influenza treatment targeting the PB2 protein in the body showed strong results supporting its safety and efficacy.
However, challenges facing the sector remain, including high research costs, long development cycles and strict safety requirements.
(By Zhang Jiahao)
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