Even amid U.S.-China tensions, major global drugmakers bought next-generation drug candidates from Chinese biotech corporations.
On Jan. 12-16 (local time), during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPMHC 2026, hereafter JPM), the world's largest pharma-biotech investment event held in San Francisco, a string of Chinese corporations announced technology export deals.
However, on the ground, the fallout from the global economic slowdown and U.S.-China tensions was palpable. A domestic biotech industry official who attended the event said, "Quite a few Chinese partners couldn't make it due to visa issues," adding, "It appears to be an effect of the U.S.-China tensions." The official said, "Compared with previous years, mid-sized drugmakers and startups from many countries sent smaller delegations, which also reflects the economy."
As big pharma find it harder to source innovation solely in the United States and Europe and turn their gaze to Asia, some analysts say they are pursuing practical gains despite the burden of U.S.-China tensions.
Lee Seung-gyu, vice chair of the Korea Bio Association, said, "While some impact from geopolitical tensions can be read, big pharma prioritize practical value—industry value and technology," adding, "Chinese biotech corporations are rapidly discovering multiple drug candidates, advancing clinical research, and taking them to market, a strategy that is expanding opportunities for global partnerships."
Lee said, "Interest in Korean technology in the global market has also risen significantly," adding, "Opportunities are clearly opening up for Korean corporations as well."
◇ Chinese bio technology exports pile up from the start of the year
First, U.S. drugmaker AbbVie said on the 12th (local time) it signed a technology transfer contract with Chinese biotech corporation RemeGen for RC148, a bispecific antibody cancer drug candidate. The deal is worth up to $5.6 billion (about 8.2 trillion won).
RC148 is a next-generation anticancer candidate that simultaneously targets PD-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Under the deal, AbbVie secured exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize RC148 worldwide except for Greater China.
Swiss pharmaceutical corporation Novartis signed two in-licensing deals with Chinese corporations during the event. On the 12th (local time), Novartis said it signed a deal worth up to $1.7 billion (about 2.5 trillion won) to in-license an antibody technology from Chinese biotech venture Sineuro Pharmaceuticals that delivers an Alzheimer's treatment to the brain.
Then on the 13th, it said it signed an in-licensing agreement for radioligand therapy (RLT) from Chinese Zonsen PepLib Biotech. RLT is a precision targeted cancer therapy that binds a radioactive isotope to a ligand recognizing a specific cancer cell surface protein and delivers it into the body.
Under the deal, Novartis acquired a global exclusive license to Zonsen PepLib's peptide-based drug candidates. Novartis will handle everything from product development to commercialization. Zonsen PepLib will receive a $50 million (about 74 billion won) upfront payment. It will also receive development, regulatory and sales milestones and royalties, but the aggregates were not disclosed.
Industry watchers say the surge in Chinese corporations' technology exports is not a coincidence but the result of structural innovation. They attribute it to China's strategy of leveraging vast clinical data, fast decision-making structures, and a plan oriented toward global out-licensing from early clinical stages.
According to a report by Goldman Sachs Research last month, as of the first half of 2025, about 46% of newly entered drug candidates in patient clinical development came from Chinese biotech corporations.
Lee Gwan-soon, chair of the Future Vision Committee at the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA) and head of GI Partners, said, "Until the 2010s, China's new drug development level lagged behind Korea's, but after the government designated pharma-biotech as a core strategic industry and nurtured it intensively, the scale of technology exports grew to more than 10 times Korea's."
◇ "Korean bio must strengthen clinical competitiveness"
By contrast, there were no announcements of technology exports by domestic corporations during the event. Alteogen said it is in the final stages of coordinating a global technology export contract with a counterpart corporation for "ALT-B4," a technology that converts an intravenous (IV) formulation to a subcutaneous (SC) one, but the outcome remains to be seen.
The securities market also swung. During JPM from the 12th to the 16th, the KOSPI pharmaceutical index rose 0.3%, underperforming the KOSPI by 5.2 percentage points, while the KOSDAQ pharmaceutical index fell 2.9%, underperforming the KOSDAQ by 3.6 percentage points.
Lee Seon-gyeong, an analyst at SK Securities, said, "Despite expectations for large M&A during JPM, the absence of big-deal news by domestic corporations fed disappointment across the pharma-biotech sector."
The analyst added, "While the lack of big deals expected during JPM is somewhat disappointing, drugmakers lately do not necessarily time major deal announcements to JPM, and the industry also tends to use conferences that are geographically easier to access after the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is too early to be discouraged."
Experts agree that to achieve major technology exports, Korean biotech corporations must strengthen their clinical strategies.
Lee Sang-hoon, CEO of ABL Bio, said, "Among domestic corporations, the number of pipelines (drug candidate portfolios) that have entered phase 2 or higher is extremely small, which is a constraint," adding, "For large-scale technology exports, strategies and financial resources are needed to carry assets through to late-stage clinical trials."
Lee said, "After meeting big pharma on site at JPM, it's clear interest in Asia has grown, and I also became convinced that after China, there are opportunities for Korea," adding, "Korean biotech corporations with platform (drug delivery) technologies need to increase the number of phase 2 assets."