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China pharma advances from ‘imitation to innovation’ to propel global pharma pipelines: Dr Sheryl Ding
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Nandita Vijayasimha, Bengaluru
May 17 , 2025
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The pharmaceutical industry in China has paced up from ‘imitation to innovation’ across research and manufacture proving its potential to reshape global pharma pipelines, said Dr Sheryl (Hongxia) Ding, founder & CEO, Pharmacodia Global Database and CyberAIDD.
Over the past 25 years, China's innovation in drug R&D has achieved a historic leap from imitation and follow-on to original innovation. Before 2000, China approved fewer than five of innovative drugs annually on an average. But in 2024, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved 48 innovative drugs, and the cumulative number of approved new drugs exceeded 200, added Dr Sheryl.
Further, quoting the National Bureau of Statistics of China, she said that the number of next-generation agents increased from 22 in 2021 to 69 in 2024, a 213.6% growth rate. First-in-class (FIC) drugs grew from 32 to 68, up 112.5%; and fast-follower (FF) drugs rose from 214 to 308, an increase of 43.9%. The new drug R&D investment surged from less than RMB 5 billion in 2005 to RMB 162.5 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 20%. By 2025, the market is expected to grow to RMB 1.4 trillion. In the last five years, capital infusion has fuelled the continuous improvement of the pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem, with over 50 biopharmaceutical companies completing IPOs on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market).
In key areas, China's innovative drugs have achieved global breakthroughs. There are 18 worldwide approved PD-1 inhibitors, 16 drugs developed by China biopharmaceutical companies, and CAR-T therapy registrations which now account for one-third of the global resources. In 2024, China pharma made historic strides in license-out deals. Over 120 transactions were completed, totalling over $60 billion, a 30% year-on-year increase and nearly 20 times of the 2018 figure. Companies like Innovent Biologics and RemeGen secured single overseas licensing deals exceeding $1 billion. Regulatory reforms have significantly improved efficiency, with clinical trial approval times for new drugs shortening from 21 months in 2017 to 10 months in 2023. Over 100,000 highly qualified overseas talents have returned, driving innovation and development in China's pharmaceutical R&D, she noted.
The application process for a new round of China's National Major Science and Technology Project Fund dedicated to innovative drug R&D has commenced. The fund will prioritize gene and cell therapy: CAR-T, CRISPR, nucleic acid drugs: mRNA, siRNA, and bispecific antibodies, as well as AI-assisted drug development including AI-driven target discovery and clinical trial design optimization. We are seeing technological innovation, increasing adoption of AI technology for database and drug development becoming prevalent for accelerated drug discovery, stated Dr Sheryl adding that Pharmacodia in partnership with SaSPinjara Life Sciences, is putting full effort to offer end-to-end consultancy and drive R&D -discovery and Innovation between India & China companies.
From 'New in China' to 'New in the World,' Dr Sheryl said, “China is setting the pace. The country’s shift from being a recipient of global innovation to being a driver of first-in-class therapies is reshaping how and where the world looks for the next generation of medicines.”
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