The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting will be held in mid this month and early June in Orlando and Chicago, respectively. In recent years, there has been a significant disclosure of clinical data for drugs during these two major conferences, leading to better performance of pharmaceutical stocks. For instance, during last year's conference, the innovative drug sector saw stock prices rise by nearly 80%. Before the two major conferences, it may be wise to select high-quality biopharmaceutical stocks for early deployment, among which Beigene (6160), WuXi AppTec (2359), and Heng Rui Medicine (1276) are excellent choices.
Mainland China's biopharmaceutical R&amp;D capabilities are strong, and even Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has stated that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry needs to collaborate with China. Foreign pharmaceutical companies are strengthening their cooperation with mainland pharmaceutical stocks, providing substantial external licensing revenue for the latter. According to data from the National Medical Products Administration, the transaction value of innovative drug licensing in the first quarter of this year exceeded $60 billion, approaching half of the total for the entire year of 2025.
<h2>Beigene's Licensing Revenue is Strong</h2>
Beigene's main product, the innovative anti-cancer targeted drug &#34;Tislelizumab,&#34; has already succeeded in Europe and the United States, driving ideal growth in performance. The group is expected to turn a profit in the fiscal year 2025 according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), recording a net profit of $287 million, while in fiscal year 2024, it is projected to have a net loss of $645 million. Total revenue for the year is expected to be $5.343 billion, an increase of 40%.
Product revenue for 2025 is projected to be $5.282 billion, an increase of 40%, accounting for 99% of total revenue; among them, global sales of Tislelizumab are expected to reach $3.9 billion, a growth of 49%. The gross profit margin for global product sales increased from 85.5% in the previous year to 87.8%. Free cash flow is expected to be $942 million, an annual increase of $1.6 billion. The group anticipates total revenue this year will be between $6.2 billion and $6.4 billion; GAAP operating profit will be between $700 million and $800 million; and non-GAAP operating profit will be between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion. The group also expects to achieve over 20 R&amp;D milestones within the next 18 months.
Beigene has considerable income from licensing, having signed a royalty purchase agreement with Royalty Pharma last August to sell the licensing rights for the monoclonal antibody Imdelltra outside of China, receiving an upfront payment of $885 million, along with the right to sell additional royalties, potentially earning an extra payment of up to $65 million. Beigene's stock closed at HKD 187.5 before the holiday, up 1.4%.
WuXi AppTec is also optimistic about this year's revenue situation, expecting overall revenue to reach RMB 51.3 billion to RMB 53 billion, with revenue from continuing operations growing by 18% to 22% year-on-year. The group revealed that it has established long-term stable partnerships with all of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies globally, forming a global network with over 20 R&amp;D and production bases in Asia, Europe, and North America.
<h2>WuXi AppTec Has Dividend Distribution</h2>
In terms of last year's profit performance, WuXi AppTec performed better than Beigene and also paid dividends, which is relatively rare among general biotech stocks. As of the end of December 2025, the net profit was HKD 19.195 billion, an increase of 105.2% year-on-year, which included investment income from the sale of part of its stake in an associate company and the divestment of certain businesses. Earnings per share were HKD 6.72, with the final dividend increased to HKD 1.57927. The total revenue for the year was HKD 45.456 billion, up 15.8% year-on-year.
During the period, the group's gross profit was HKD 21.379 billion, an increase of 33.5% year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of 47%, up 6.2 percentage points year-on-year. As of the end of last year, the group's ongoing business had an order backlog of HKD 58 billion, an increase of 28.8% year-on-year, with ongoing business revenue of HKD 43.42 billion.
JP Morgan raised the group's sales forecast for the next three years by 4% to 5% based on WuXi AppTec's guidance, increased the gross profit margin forecast by 3 percentage points, and raised the profit forecast by 10% to 11%. It continues to list the stock as an industry favorite, raising the target price to HKD 150 and maintaining an &#34;overweight&#34; rating. WuXi AppTec closed at HKD 124.9 before the holiday, up 0.8%.
<h2>Hengrui Enters a New Era of Globalization</h2>
Hengrui Medicine primarily develops oncology drugs and ranks first in sales of anti-tumor drugs, with a market share of over 12%. The group has been approved to list 24 types of Class I innovative drugs in mainland China. According to the pipeline scale ranking released by Citeline in 2025, the group's self-developed pipeline ranks second globally, with about 53 innovative products expected to be approved in the next three years. As of the end of 2025, the group is conducting approximately 3,200 post-marketing medical research projects, covering a cumulative total of about 8,000 research centers.
Hengrui's performance has been stable, with a net profit of HKD 7.711 billion for the year ending December 2025, an increase of 21.7% year-on-year; earnings per share were HKD 1.19, with a final dividend of HKD 2 for every 10 shares. The total revenue for the year was HKD 31.629 billion, up 13%. Last year's sales and licensing revenue from innovative drugs was HKD 19.735 billion, accounting for 62.4% of total annual revenue, of which innovative drug sales revenue was HKD 16.342 billion, up 26.1% year-on-year, accounting for 51.7% of total revenue and 58.3% of drug sales.
The group also achieved significant success in external licensing, reaching an agreement with the U.S. company Braveheart Bio last year, which could yield an upfront payment of USD 65 million, with the potential to receive milestone payments related to clinical development and sales, up to a maximum of USD 1.013 billion.
Morgan Stanley indicated that Hengrui is entering a new era of globalization, expecting an annual growth rate of 30% in innovative drug sales from 2026 to 2028, and is likely to continue consolidating its leading position in China's biopharmaceutical industry. It pointed out that the market has not yet fully reflected the growth potential brought by its globalization licensing &#34;going abroad,&#34; listing it as one of its preferred stocks, with a target price of HKD 92 and an &#34;overweight&#34; rating. Hengrui closed at HKD 66.65 before the holiday, down 0.4%
CICC pointed out that last year's sales revenue met expectations, maintaining its &#34;outperform&#34; rating with a target price of HKD 250.
Investment Pursuit

LABU

IBBQ

Ahead of the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, biopharmaceutical stocks have performed well, particularly Beigene and WuXi AppTec. Beigene is expected to achieve a net profit of $287 million in 2025, with total annual revenue of $5.343 billion, a growth of 40%. Its main product, "Tislelizumab," has performed exceptionally well in the European and American markets, driving revenue growth. The company has also achieved significant income from external licensing, with innovative drug licensing deals exceeding $60 billion in the first quarter

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Innovative drugs welcome the "going abroad" harvest period, with a surge in external licensing amounts. Beigene turns losses into profits, and WuXi AppTec sees a significant increase in orders. | Investment Pursuit