China's biotechnology industry maintained robust momentum in October 2025, with 21 financing deals totaling $420 million.
The largest funding round went to Chengdu New Radiomedicine Technology, which secured approximately RMB 800 million in its Series D round. As a radiopharmaceutical developer, the company has laid out a pipeline of scarce nuclides and four clinical-stage nuclear medicine candidates.
In the in vivo CAR-T space, Chinese Biotechs remained active. Starna therapeutics closed over RMB 300 million in Series B funding, while Byterna secured tens of millions of RMB in an angel round to advance circular mRNA-based in vivo CAR-T drug research. Additionally, Immunofoco Biotechnology completed an undisclosed Series B financing round to support its related pipeline progress.
A notable highlight was Pregene Biopharma's in vivo CAR-T out-licensing deal with Kite Pharma, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences. The collaboration in in vivo therapies includes a $120 million upfront payment and potential milestone payments of up to $1.52 billion. Pregene also helped AstraZeneca-owned EsoBiotec design its in vivo CAR-T.
The most eye-catching collaboration in October occured between Innovent Biologics and Takeda Pharmaceutical, with a $1.2 billion upfront payment and a total potential transaction value of $11.4 billion. The two companies will co-develop and commercialize IBI363 (a PD-1/IL-2α-bias agonist). Also, Innovent granted Takeda an exclusive option for the rights to IBI343 (a CLDN18.2 ADC) and IBI3001 (an EGFR/B7H3 ADC) outside Greater China.
Roche also expanded its portfolio by in-licensing two innovative products from Chinese Biotechs. These include QX031N, a long-acting bispecific antibody targeting TSLP and IL-33 from Qyuns Therapeutics, and HS-20110, a CDH17 ADC from Hansoh Pharma, reflecting the global recognition of China's innovative drug R&D capabilities.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange continued to be a key fundraising platform for Chinese biotechs in October. Three biopharmaceutical companies successfully listed: Xuanzhu Biopharm, Haixi Pharma, and CF PharmTech.
