Chinese new drug development ranks second globally

China has made significant progress in new drug development, now ranking second worldwide. According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), over 20 percent of new drugs currently in research globally are being developed in China.

In recent years, a series of domestically developed drugs, including some anti-cancer medications, have been approved for market launch. This has effectively filled previous gaps in China's homegrown pharmaceutical portfolio, said Guo Yanhong, deputy head of the NHC, at a Thursday press conference on China's healthcare progress from 2021 to 2025.

A prime example is Zanubrutinib (marketed as Brukinsa), a cancer drug developed by the Chinese biotech company BeiGene. As a potent BTK inhibitor, it demonstrated superior efficacy and a better safety profile compared to the American drug Ibrutinib in a head-to-head clinical trial. Celebrated as a "star product" and China's first "billion-dollar molecule," Brukinsa has since been approved in 75 markets, including the U.S., Europe, and Japan. A BTK inhibitor is a substance that blocks the activity of a protein called Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK). Blocking BTK may help prevent cancer cells from growing. Some BTK inhibitors are used to treat cancer.

Beyond pharmaceuticals, China's advances include high-end medical devices. The country has independently developed cutting-edge technologies like photon-counting CT scanners, surgical robots, ECMO machines, and artificial hearts. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, or ECMO, is a sophisticated therapy used to perform the functions of the heart and lungs when a patient's own organs are too ill or weak. It is essentially a modified heart-lung bypass machine – an apparatus that takes over heart and lung functions by adding oxygen to and removing carbon dioxide from the blood. These innovations are helping to make state-of-the-art medical care more accessible and affordable for Chinese citizens.

To improve public health, China is also expanding its vaccination programs. The country recently introduced its domestically developed nine-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

This year, China will launch HPV vaccination services for eligible women and include the vaccine in the national immunization program to protect women's health, said Shen Hongbing, the deputy head of the NHC and the head of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration at the press conference.

The government plans to include this vaccine in the national immunization program, providing services to eligible females to help prevent cervical cancer and further emphasizing China's dedication to both medical innovation and widespread public health.