We all heard the Chinese biotechs are booming. I am always wondering if there are statiscal data to learn about the innovative drug development in China. Recently, a research article titled “Chinese innovative drug R&D trends in 2024“（DOI: 10.1038/d41573-024-00120-5） authored by Li Guanqiao from Tsinghua University and his colleagues was published in the top-tier journal Nature Review Drug Discovery, sparking widespread attention. To describe the changes in China’s drug development in recent years, the authors summarized the current pipeline of innovative drugs in China and compared it with the data they reported in 2021 (Nat. Rev. drug Discov. 21: 553-554; 2022).
Between July 2021 and January 1, 2024, Chinese companies experienced a nearly twofold increase in the number of innovative products under development, rising from 2,251 to 4,391. Notably, first-in-class (FIC) drugs (100%) and fast-follower (FF) drugs (123%) exhibited higher growth rates compared to me-too drugs (95%).
Chinese-originated drugs continue to make significant contributions to the global drug development pipeline. Since July 2021, eight innovative drugs developed in China have entered overseas markets, with seven of them having been licensed to international partners. In the 2024 R&D pipeline, 465 Chinese-developed drug candidates are at the same development stage both in China and abroad, indicating a trend of synchronized R&D efforts. Moreover, the 2024 pipeline includes 101 licensed products, a 135% increase compared to the previous 43. Notably, the proportion of these first-in-class (FIC) products has increased from 16% to 28%, encompassing 7 bispecific or multispecific antibodies, 4 ADCs, 4 CAR T-cell therapies, and 1 TCR T-cell therapy.
These are just a super brief of the article. If you are interesed in learning the details, the original article is a must read.