The National Strategic Status of the Biopharmaceutical Industry Is Undergoing a Historic Upgrade!

On March 5, at this year's National Two Sessions government work report, biopharmaceuticals were explicitly listed as a national-level "emerging pillar industry," alongside integrated circuits, aerospace, low-altitude economy, and other industries. This marks the first time the government work report has proposed developing the biopharmaceutical industry with the positioning of a pillar industry, releasing a significant policy signal to accelerate industrial upgrading.

From "emerging industry" to "emerging pillar industry"—a change of two words carries immense weight.

This is not merely an upgrade of the industrial catalog, but a qualitative shift in national strategy. It declares that biopharmaceuticals are no longer just a safeguard for people's livelihoods, but a core pillar of national technological strength and strategic security; no longer just a component of the economy, but a key yardstick for measuring the competitiveness of a major power.

This is the mission that the era has bestowed upon China's innovative drugs, and it is also the answer that China's innovative drugs are returning to the era.

After more than a decade of accumulated strength, China's innovative drug industry has bid farewell to the initial "following" stage and ushered in a comprehensive, landmark leapfrog breakthrough. It is steadily advancing from a "major generic drug producer" to a "major innovative drug power."

Global expansion of new drugs is becoming a new engine of China's foreign trade. In 2025, the total value of China's innovative drug BD deals exploded, with out-licensing deals exceeding $135 billion and upfront payments nearing $10 billion. Industry quality and efficiency are both rising: a number of potential billion-dollar and ten-billion-dollar molecules have emerged, and local innovation achievements have gained high recognition from major global markets.

The landmark breakthroughs in China's innovative drug industry are the inevitable result of a resonance of multiple factors: policy support, R&D strength, market demand, and capital empowerment. The future of China's innovative drug industry will undoubtedly be driven by dual growth in both the global and domestic markets.

With biopharmaceuticals elevated from an "emerging industry" to an "emerging pillar industry" at the national level, this dual-driven growth is becoming a reality.

Policy empowerment is building an institutional safeguard. In recent years, China has deepened drug approval and review reforms, provided full-chain support for innovative drug development, and established commercial insurance catalogs for innovative drugs. In 2025, China approved 76 innovative drugs for marketing, with domestic products accounting for over 85%, including 4 first-in-class drugs. Approval efficiency and standards are gradually aligning with international norms.

The industry itself has achieved a leapfrog improvement. China's pipeline of drugs in development accounts for approximately 30% of the global total, ranking second in the world. Its R&D cost and efficiency advantages are significant: Phase III clinical trial costs are only one-third of those in the U.S., patient recruitment is 2-5 times faster than in Europe and the U.S., and drug discovery is 2-3 times faster. In 2025, half of the new molecular entities entering clinical development globally originated from China.

Global market demand provides vast space. Before 2030, drugs with over $300 billion in sales worldwide will lose patent protection. Multinational pharmaceutical companies face the patent cliff and pressure from declining R&D efficiency. The high cost-effectiveness and differentiated advantages of Chinese innovative drugs make them the core choice for MNCs' "sourcing from China."

Capital empowerment injects strong momentum. Total financing for innovative drugs reached an all-time high in 2025, with the primary market characterized by a "decrease in volume, increase in price" pattern. Meanwhile, financing models continue to diversify. Beyond Hong Kong's 18A, new financing methods such as RWA tokenization have also provided breakthrough pathways for pharmaceutical R&D, gradually forming a "multi-channel synergistic" capital ecosystem.

China's innovative drugs have grown into an important "leader" in the global pharmaceutical market. Looking ahead, with continued policy optimization and sustained innovation improvement, more blockbuster molecules will go global. China's innovative drugs will continue to demonstrate the responsibility of a major power and contribute China's strength, achieving a leap from a "major innovative drug power" to a "global leader in pharmaceutical innovation."

The full rise of a major drug power inevitably calls for a matching global voice.

As Chinese assets have become key collaboration targets for global pharmaceutical companies, the industry should no longer merely send thousands of people to San Francisco each year to "sell projects." There is an urgent need to establish a normalized, internationalized, and market-oriented high-end conference platform in China itself—one that systematically showcases the advantages of Chinese innovative drugs, connects multinational pharmaceutical companies and overseas investment institutions, leads the formulation of global rules, and drives the upgrading of the innovation ecosystem. This is precisely the historical background and mission behind TONACEA's launch of the "China Pharmaceutical Innovation Global Conference."

At the same time, TONACEA has launched the flagship column "Great Power Pharmaceuticals," focusing on the core logic behind the rise of Chinese innovative drugs, exploring globalization strategies for innovative pharmaceuticals, and striving to build a sustainable innovation ecosystem for China's pharmaceutical industry.

The "Great Power Pharmaceuticals" column chronicles the stories of China's rise amid globalization, witnesses key breakthroughs from following to leading, interprets national strategies, and tracks cutting-edge technologies. Through benchmark events and case study analyses, it highlights the role of China as a major power in the pharmaceutical industry.

From in-depth reports to industry dialogues, from executive interviews to trend analysis—join us in witnessing and writing the answer sheet of China's innovative drug era.