China leads Asia Pacific in high-value oncology deals in 2020

China has 3,667 ongoing clinical trials for 1,761 oncological drugs as of 10 March.

China leads Asia Pacific in high-value pharmaceutical strategic partnerships in 2020, particularly in the field of oncology, with deal values of over $1b in China doubling during the year, a report from GlobalData revealed.

This is thanks to the country tackling the COVID-19 pandemic effectively and restarting economic activities quickly compared to other countries in the region, GlobalData’s pharma analyst Sasmitha Sahu commented.

“In addition, fast-tracking clinical trials, updating the National Reimbursement Drug List, Healthy China 2030 policy, and growing demand for high quality treatment are all driving the domestic oncology market,” Sahu added.

As many as four high-value deals were completed within the first two months of 2021 in Asia Pacific, of which two are from China. Sahu said that both are related to either late-stage development molecules or established molecules in China.

“This is a win-win situation as it gives opportunity for novel therapies developed in China to gain global access while the licensee companies can leverage drug development cost and time benefits associated with shorter time-to-market molecules,” Sahu added.

Furthermore, 41 high-value deals have been completed in Asia Pacific since 2011, of which over 24 are related to oncology with 10 of them involving Chinese companies. As of 10 March, China has 3,667 ongoing clinical trials for 1,761 oncological drugs.