According to Bloomberg's report on July 20th, a latest study shows that between 2020 and 2025, the number of new anti-cancer drugs approved for marketing in China will exceed that of the United States, indicating a significant increase in the competitiveness of China's biopharmaceutical industry in recent years.
This study, published in the journal Health Affairs, was conducted jointly by Pennsylvania State University and the cancer research advocacy organization “Cancer Research Friends”. The data shows that from 2020 to 2025, China approved 94 new cancer drugs for sale, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 87 such drugs during the same period.
Research also indicates that China will overtake the United States in 2023 and maintain this lead until 2025. By 2025 alone, the number of new anti-cancer drugs approved in China will be nearly three times that of the United States.
However, the United States still holds an advantage in the field of ‘first-in-class’ drugs. Of the 36 first-in-class cancer drugs studied, 30 were approved in the United States for the first time. Additionally, the median time for FDA review is 117 days longer than in China.
Researchers say that China has moved from a phase where generic drugs were dominant, to a new stage where it has the capabilities for the development and commercialization of innovative drugs. Jeff Allen, one of the report's authors and CEO of Friends of Cancer Research, said that China's continuous and intensive investment in the biotechnology industry is rapidly translating into research breakthroughs.
This clearly demonstrates that China is continuing its rapid growth in investment in biological technology industries, and they have achieved success.
Bloomberg pointed out that as more and more international pharmaceutical companies cooperate with Chinese companies, China is gradually shifting from being a global drug production base to an important partner in the development of innovative drugs. The U.S. Committee on Economic and Security Issues, under the U.S. Congress, also acknowledged in a report that China’s sophisticated laboratory infrastructure and expanding biomanufacturing systems are establishing themselves as leaders in the commercialization of global scientific discoveries.
