In March, Chinese drugmakers completed 30 financing deals, raising a combined $1.59 billion—surpassing the $1.36 billion total secured in January and February combined.
Leading the fundraising wave is AI-powered startup Earendil Labs, which pulled in $787 million in its Series B financing round. DST Global, Dimension Capital and French pharma giant Sanofi were among the investors in this hefty funding round.
The firm has struck strategic partnerships with Sanofi twice, first in April last year and again this January. The initial deal involved two bispecific antibodies for autoimmune diseases, while the second pact expanded to a collaboration leveraging Earendil’s AI drug discovery platform. The total potential payouts from both agreements exceed $4 billion.
Chinese firms announced five out-licensing deals in March, a drop from 18 in January and 10 in February, yet still featured several notable deals.
The pact between Insilico Medicine and Eli Lilly, announced at the end of March, carries a total deal value of up to $2.75 billion, including a $115 million upfront payment. Under the deal, Eli Lilly will gain an exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and commercialize certain preclinical oral therapeutics for undisclosed indications. The pair first partnered back in 2023 and signed a following $100 million collaboration agreement in November 2025.
Chia Tai Tianqing, a subsidiary of Sino Biopharm signed an exclusive global deal with Sanofi for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of rovadicitinib, a JAK/ROCK inhibitor. Sino Biopharm will receive up to $1.53 billion in total payments, including a $135 million upfront payment.
March saw two domestic acquisitions among Chinese companies and one cross-border M&A transaction.
Everest Medicines acquired Hasten Biopharmaceutical for $250 million. Beijing State-owned Capital E-town CBC Industrial Investment Fund completed the takeover of Pediatrix Therapeutics, a developer focused on pediatric medicines. Gyre Therapeutics bought Cullgen for approximately $300 million to obtain its targeted protein degradation platform and product pipeline.
