October was another slow month for licensing deals in China, with a total, once again, of only seven. Three of them were in-licensing deals with overseas companies.
September was a slow month in pharmaceutical licensing deals, only seven. But, despite low volume, the five deals that were disclosed amounted to a total of $2.083 billion, ranking September third below March and May in terms of deal value.
August saw eight drug licensing deals, including five in-licensing agreements, an out-licensing deal and two partnerships between domestic companies.
There were a total of eight drug licensing deals in China in July 2022. This includes four in-licensing agreements, two out-licensing deals and two programs between domestic companies or institutions.
In-licensing activity in China’s biotech sector has stayed weak in the second quarter of 2022, with the number of in-licensing deals dropping to a new low in June. Cash-strapped Chinese drugmakers became more prudent in buying and sought big buyers for their assets instead.
The biotech deal making space in May 2022 saw Chinese drugmakers licensing out their assets for as much as a billion dollars. MSD and Turning Point Therapeutics gained China-originated cancer drugs in deals worth $2.63 billion.
From March 2021 to April 2022, there have been seven deals in ophthalmology. Ophthalmic drugs have become an important target of in-licensing deals in China.
Several early-stage out-licensing deals inked by Chinese biotech firms to carry their in-house technology platforms and pipelines to the global market marked the dealmaking space of March 2022.
Huadong Medicine announced a series of three in-licensing deals with a combined value of $1.667 billion, pushing the total deal value for February to $1.883 billion, edging over the $1.681 billion the previous month.