Reporting period: April 28 - May 4, 2026

Data sources: PharmCube, PharmaGoGlobal, Sina Finance, NMPA, and other public sources | Compiled by Nanjing Zhihe

1. Weekly BD Transaction Overview

This week (April 28 - May 4) falls right before May Day, and China's innovative-drug BD market continues the Q1 momentum.

According to PharmCube, Q1 2026 out-licensing deal value reached USD 61.4 billion, accounting for 69.7% of global transactions and up 66.4% year on year.

Full-year transaction value is expected to exceed USD 150 billion.

Trend Shifts Across Innovative-Drug Tracks

1. Tracks Heating Up

Small nucleic acids: USD 7.16 billion in Q1 alone, already exceeding full-year 2025, driven mainly by GLP-1, metabolic disease, and MASH.

Bispecific/multispecifics: VEGF/PD-(L)1 bispecifics account for half of the top-10 out-licensing deals; CD3 bispecifics remain MNC favorites.

Oral peptides: GLP-1 continues to heat up; the USD 18.5 billion CSPC-AstraZeneca deal sets a milestone.

AI drug discovery: platform partnerships are now MNC priorities, shifting from single-asset licensing toward bundled "platform + capability" deals.

2. Tracks Cooling

ADCs: only four out-licensing deals in Q1; fierce competition on EGFR, CLDN18.2, B7-H3, and TROP2, but a foundation of repeat-deal trust has been built.

2. Latest Policy Updates

New Pharma Rules Effective May 1

[Regulations on the Clinical Translation of Emerging Biomedical Technologies]

On May 1, 2026, State Council Order No. 818 — the Regulations on Clinical Research and Translational Application of Emerging Biomedical Technologies — officially took effect.

It is China's first administrative regulation dedicated to frontier biomedical technologies such as cell therapy, gene editing, and gene therapy.

It signals a shift to a more standardized, rule-of-law-based regulatory framework for emerging therapies.

It provides important guidance for the clinical translation of innovative biologics.

[Supreme Court / Supreme Procuratorate: Stricter Penalties for Bribery in Healthcare]

The two top courts jointly issued Interpretation (II) on Legal Issues in Corruption and Bribery Cases, lowering the criminal threshold to RMB 100,000 for bribery in healthcare.

The threshold for anti-corruption prosecution is significantly lowered, putting the "cash-driven sales" model under systemic criminal liability risk.

New Drug Administration Regulation Effective May 15

The revised Implementation Regulation of the Drug Administration Law, approved at the 76th State Council Executive Meeting on December 31, 2025, takes effect May 15, 2026.

This is the first comprehensive revision in 23 years, with over 90% of clauses amended, deeply affecting the innovative-drug industry.

Encouraging drug innovation (the main theme): support clinically value-driven drug R&D; encourage the clinical rollout of new drugs.

It formally establishes the legal status of four expedited pathways: breakthrough therapy, conditional approval, priority review, and special approval.

Market exclusivity (first-time legislation): pediatric drugs — 12 months of exclusivity after approval.

Rare-disease drugs: 12 months (when alternative therapies exist) or 24 months (when none exist).

Supply continuity is also required.

Sponsor-change mechanism: sponsors may legally change, providing a regulatory pathway for pipeline transfers in BD deals.

This reduces institutional barriers to pipeline circulation and promotes resource optimization.

Recognition of overseas clinical data: data obtained overseas, when compliant with NMPA requirements, can support domestic registration.

This promotes IMCTs and enables "one dataset, multi-country filing".

Segmented contract manufacturing: MAHs may commission qualified manufacturers to produce innovative, urgently needed, and public-health-emergency drugs in segments.

This breaks the traditional model that "all steps must occur at the same site".

Conditional commercial-batch launch: after passing GMP compliance checks, commercial batches of new, rare-disease, and shortage drugs can be launched early.

This significantly shortens the wait for patients.

Data protection extended: from "new chemical entities" to "other qualified drugs".

This adds flexibility for data protection on cell therapies and biologics.

3. Key Industry Events

Highlights of ASCO 2026

ASCO 2026 will be held May 29 - June 2 in Chicago.

Abstract titles have been released, and Chinese innovators are putting on a strong showing.

CXO Industry Sentiment Continues to Rebound

On April 27, WuXi AppTec reported Q1 revenue of RMB 12.44 billion, up 28.8% year on year.

Net profit attributable to shareholders grew 26.7%.

The small-molecule process R&D and manufacturing (DM) segment performed strongly, a clear signal of CXO recovery.

This provides capacity support for innovative-drug R&D investment.

BD Industry Events Are Heating Up

According to PharmCube, BioPartnering 2026 will be held in May.

More than 1,000 BD leaders and investors will gather to push more potential deals forward.

The full-year BD momentum is expected to continue.

China Innovative-Drug Globalization Models Are Upgrading

2026 BD deals show a notable structural shift: early-stage (preclinical to Phase I) projects account for 66%.

MNCs are no longer just buying "launch certainty"; they are systematically buying "future optionality" and "technology-platform capability".

The USD 18.5 billion CSPC-AstraZeneca deal is a textbook example: eight peptide molecules plus a bundled AI discovery platform and sustained-release delivery platform.

This raises the bar for Chinese innovators on platform capability building.

Disclaimer: This report is for industry reference only and does not constitute investment advice.

Data come from PharmCube, PharmaGoGlobal, Sina Finance, NMPA and other public sources; statistics may vary, please refer to company announcements for actual deal values.