Media365
Chinese drug makers’ licensing deals more than doubled in 2025 from a year earlier to a record high, propelled by dozens of multibillion-dollar agreements between Hong Kong and mainland China-listed firms and global pharmaceutical giants.
Last year, 157 out-licensing deals worth US$135.7 billion were signed, compared with 94 transactions worth US$51.9 billion in 2024, state media reported, citing data released by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), China’s drugs regulator, last week.
Out-licensing agreements typically refer to a company granting another firm the exclusive rights to further develop, manufacture and commercialise a drug once it has entered clinical trials in humans, in return for upfront payments, milestone fees and royalties on future sales.
