AstraZeneca, Pfizer and other multinational drug companies have spent a record amount on medicines developed by Chinese biotechs this year
AstraZeneca has signed the most licensing deals with Chinese biotechs, at least $13.6bn of licensing deals with five companies so far this year
US pharmaceutical companies AbbVie, Merck, Pfizer and Regeneron also signed multibillion-dollar licensing deals in the first half of 2025.
Pfizer signed the biggest Chinese licensing deal this year, a $6bn agreement with 3Sbio to develop a cancer drug
All this [pharmaceutical] money has gone into China because China has invested in their industry while the US government has not,” Axelsen said.
US spent the better part of the 20th century becoming a science and technology powerhouse. We are pissing away that advantage at lightning speed.