Two recent licensing deals involving Chinese firms underscore the record level of agreements being inked between innovative domestic biotechs and generic drug makers, at a time when corporate valuations and geopolitical tensions have made cross-border transactions harder to grab.

UCB’s Bimzelx has forged ahead with success in a late-stage psoriatic arthritis trial while it still awaits US approval for psoriasis, a hotly anticipated blockbuster indication.

While strong growth in China's immuno-oncology sector continued in the last quarter, the momentum appears to be slowing, affecting by multiple factors including intense competition in the sector and price cuts related to reimbursement listing, while regulatory authorities have already warned about what they see as the wasting of resources on "redundant" development activities. 

The latest immuno-oncology newcomers from Lee’s Pharma and Jiangsu Hengrui will further choke an already crowded field in China if they are approved following recent filings.