<div id="readability-page-1">The pace and size of outlicensing deals between Chinese drug makers and global partners have accelerated this year, highlighted by two agreements announced this week, each worth more than US$1 billion. The string of deals shows how China is becoming a sought-after source of drug candidates for multinational pharmaceutical companies, which are increasingly looking for long-term partnerships rather than one-off arrangements, analysts said. The latest deals, Sino Biopharmaceutical’s agreement with France’s Sanofi worth up to US$1.53 billion and Antengene Corporation’s agreement with Belgium’s UCB valued at about US$1.18 billion, came as cross-border transactions by Chinese drug makers in the first two months of the year outpaced any single quarter last year in upfront payments and total value, according to Yang Huang, head of China healthcare research at JPMorgan Chase. Total 2026 deal value from China-originated outlicensing activities reached US$52 billion from 41 transactions as of February 24, following a record 157 deals worth a combined US$135.7 billion last year.  Against this commercial backdrop, markets are watching for signals of government support for innovative drug development as China’s “two sessions” begin on Wednesday, although industry analysts largely expect only limited “moral support”. Hong Kong-listed Sino Biopharmaceutical said in an exchange filing on Wednesday that its Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical unit had granted a subsidiary of Sanofi the exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and sell rovadicitinib, an oral drug to treat blood cancer and immune-related diseases. Under the agreement, Sino Biopharmaceutical will receive an upfront payment of US$135 million plus potential development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to US$1.39 billion, as well as up to double-digit tiered royalties based on the annual net sales of rovadicitinib. The drug was approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration last month for the treatment of a type of blood cancer. On Tuesday, Antengene granted Brussels-listed UCB an exclusive worldwide licence to manufacture and commercialise ATG-201, an experimental antibody-based therapy treating autoimmune diseases, according to an exchange filing. Antengene, which has a research and development centre and manufacturing sites in China, will receive upfront and near-term milestone payments of US$80 million and US$1.1 billion, respectively, as well as tiered royalties on future net sales. “One important structural shift is that global multinational corporations are no longer just buying cheap molecules, but they are paying premiums to secure Chinese platforms and sustained codevelopment,” Huang said. Other notable outlicensing deals so far this year include a January 29 tie-up in which AstraZeneca agreed to pay US$1.2 billion upfront to China’s CSPC in a weight-loss drug collaboration worth up to US$18.5 billion, and an early-February Innovent-Lilly partnership with a US$350 million upfront payment and as much as US$8.5 billion in milestones for next-generation cancer and immunology drugs. “Those deals highlight a new collaboration paradigm in which global companies secure long-term access to Chinese innovation platforms while China partners lead early discovery and regional clinical execution,” Huang said. Tony Ren, head of Asia healthcare research at Macquarie Capital, said 2026 would “probably see another 50 to 60 per cent increase in deal value”, after more than doubling in 2025. “Every large pharmaceutical company is sending its business development and research and development teams to China to scout for new drug assets,” Ren said.</div>

159849

159992

512290

<p>China's biotech outlicensing deals have surged to over US$52 billion in the first two months of 2026, driven by significant agreements such as Sino Biopharmaceutical's US$1.53 billion deal with Sanofi and Antengene's US$1.18 billion deal with UCB. This trend reflects a shift towards long-term partnerships as multinational companies seek innovative drug candidates from China. Analysts predict a continued increase in deal value, with expectations of a 50-60% rise in 2026, as global pharmaceutical firms intensify their search for new drug assets in China.</p>

SCMP

China Merchants CSI Biotechnology Theme ETF

Yinhua CSI Innovative Drugs Industry ETF

Guotai CSI Bio-medicine ETF

E Fund CSI 300 Health Care ETF

Minsheng Royal CSI Biotechnology Theme ETF

SBP GROUP

Tianhong CNI BIOMEDICINE ETF

Penghua SSE STAR Biology and Medicine ETF

ChinaAMC SSE Health Care ETF Initiating Fund

Sanofi

ChinaAMC SSE STAR Biology and Medicine ETF

ChinaAMC CSI Biotechnology Theme ETF

Guotai SSE STAR Brand Name Drug ETF

E Fund CSI Biotechnology Theme ETF

China Universal 800 Health Care ETF

Huaan Hang Seng Biotech ETF

China biotech outlicensing tops US$52 billion in first 2 months