In his recent report on Alcon, BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman estimated that its pharmaceutical portfolio could generate close to $900m in fiscal year 2022.

Four latecomers including Akeso and Henlius managed to record a combined $101m in immuno-oncology drug sales in China in the first half, while market leaders such as BeiGene and Innovent saw mixed results as competition between domestically-developed rivals continues to heat up.

Eric Rubin, who heads up early oncology clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, tells Scrip that it became clear very early on that Keytruda was something special.

A number of major Chinese pharma firms, including Simcere and Hansoh, brought in more revenues from innovative drugs than generics in the first half, a major stand-out from their domestic peers.