Chinese Innovative Drugs Surge Ahead: Fosun Pharma’s License-Out Deals Exceed USD 60 Billion
Source: DengYueMed
On October 18, Chen Yuqing, Chairman of Fosun Pharma, stated at an event that China’s innovative drug industry has made a qualitative leap over the past decade.
Since 2014, China’s share of global R&D pipelines for innovative drugs has surged from 5% to 30%, with the potential to become the world’s largest in the coming years.
In 2024 alone, China recorded 94 license-out deals worth approximately USD 51.9 billion, and by the first half of 2025, the total value had already exceeded USD 60 billion.
Chen emphasized that as a global healthcare group rooted in China and driven by innovation, Fosun Pharma invested nearly RMB 5 billion in pharmaceutical R&D, accounting for about 17% of its pharmaceutical segment revenue.
The company has built an open global R&D system covering independent R&D, co-development, licensing, venture incubation, and industrial investment—encompassing the entire product innovation lifecycle.
Fosun focuses on oncology, immuno-inflammation, CVRM, and neurodegenerative diseases, with strong platforms in antibody and RNA technologies.
Since 2019, Fosun Pharma has launched 12 innovative drugs, including four new approvals in the first half of 2025 alone, with a continuously expanding innovation pipeline.
In terms of global innovation localization, Fosun Pharma is undergoing an active transformation. For example, in its collaboration with the Da Vinci surgical robot, Fosun has evolved from being China’s sole distributor to becoming an integrated R&D, manufacturing, and sales partner.
Its manufacturing facilities are now key nodes in the global supply chain.
Another highlight is the “Magnetic Wave Knife,” a non-invasive, non-implant, anesthesia-free treatment demonstrating remarkable efficacy for Parkinson’s disease patients.
However, Chen also noted that China still lags behind in “source innovation.” Of the more than 700 drug targets identified worldwide, China’s 3,000-plus research institutions have contributed only a single-digit share.
To address this gap, Fosun is advancing on two fronts:
- VC-driven incubation. Five years ago, Fosun launched a RMB 1.5 billion fund to incubate 10 R&D platforms. Today, 36 candidates have entered clinical trials, and one gene therapy platform for optic nerve diseases was acquired by a UK company for USD 400 million.
- Academic-industry collaboration. Fosun is strengthening ties between its R&D teams and universities and research institutes to accelerate industrialization and capital synergy. By gathering domestic and global experts, the company enhances target discovery, strategic decision-making, and early-stage innovation, building an open innovation ecosystem for full-cycle, globalized development.
On the “global expansion” front, Fosun’s artemisinin series—derived from Tu Youyou’s Nobel-winning research and known as China’s first innovative drug—has been deployed in Africa for nearly 20 years, supplying over 820 million injections and saving more than 84 million malaria patients, most of whom were children under five.
In major international markets, Fosun’s PD-1 product has completed patient enrollment for its Phase III bridging trial in the U.S. and is expected to achieve commercialization by 2027.
Multiple products have obtained EU commercialization eligibility, while Japan’s clinical programs are progressing steadily.
Meanwhile, Fosun is expanding across emerging markets, including the Middle East, India, and South America, and has established a manufacturing base in Africa—gradually forming a global network across R&D, clinical trials, registration, and commercialization.
By the first half of 2025, Fosun Pharma’s overseas revenue reached RMB 5.5 billion, accounting for 28% of total revenue, marking solid progress toward global integration.
