CHINA INNOVATIVE DRUG ASSET TRANSACTIONS 2024 OVERVIEW

2025-03-20

OVERVIEW

China’s out-licensing market continued fast growth and reached a new high in 2024, while the in-licensing market observed a consecutive three years’ decline. There were a total of 115 cross-border licensing deals including 80 out-licensing and 35 in-licensing deals, representing a slight growth of 8% y/y.
Out-licensing transactions continued fast growth in 2024, reaching a new high in both deal numbers and total upfront payments. In 2024, total number of out-licensing deals increased 21% y/y to 80 deals, compared with 66 deals in 2023. The total upfront payments surged to $3.94 billion in 2024, representing a 78% increase from $2.22 billion in 2023.
- The out-licensing landscape saw an overwhelming lead for pre-clinical stage assets (47%), indicating a strong export of early-stage innovations and a potential surge in international interest in China’s drug discovery capabilities.
In-licensing transactions have decrease for consecutive three years, still not bottoming-out. In 2024, in-licensing deals decreased 13% y/y to 35 deals, compared with 32% decrease y/y in 2023.
- The in-licensing transactions showed a dominant preference for registered assets, comprising 46% of the deals. This pattern indicates a more practical in-licensing strategy, emphasizing immediate market access through mature products.
Domestic licensing transactions had a strong rebound in 2024. In 2024, domestic licensing deals up 54% y/y to 57 deals , compared with 18% decrease y/y in 2022; and the total upfront payments even jumping by 236%, hitting a new high.
- The domestic licensing scenario had experienced a shift towards more later stage assets, especially registered assets. This explains the situation where the growth rate of the upfront payments is much higher than those of deal numbers.
China’s recognition in global novel drug deals has also grown significantly. By 2024, Chinese licensing deals (domestic + out-licensing) accounted for over 30% of global transactions and upfront payments, with deal numbers increasing from 103 in 2020 to 137 in 2024, and total payments soaring from $706 million to $4.3 billion.