APAC'S ALLIANCE-DRIVEN BIOTECH BOOM

Partnerships are a cornerstone of the biotech innovation process. COVID-19 acted as a catalyst, accelerating collaboration across the sector and prompting partnerships between established players for the first time.

- Ayesha Siddiqui

Since then, biotech alliances have become more diverse, frequent, and strategically important, especially in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Biotech partnerships of APAC differ in a variety of ways from most global collaborations, primarily due to the unique geopolitical and socio-economic landscape of the region. The region has innovation hubs like Japan and South Korea as well as large, high-growth markets such as China and India. As China rapidly scales its biopharma capabilities, it is becoming both a key market and an innovator. This transformation has redefined regional deal-making, shifting the focus from technology transfer to co-development, shared commercialisation, and strategic alignment. APAC biotech deals are no longer early-stage R&D plays, they are beginning to span the full lifecycle, from bench to bedside, including commercialisation milestones. Let's explore further the APAC's wave of regional biotech partnerships during the first five months of this calendar year ie. from January to May 2025.

In the first half of 2025, up to May 20, the APAC biotech industry has seen a surge in regional partnerships. A total of 24 partnerships have been recorded so far, spanning areas such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), digital health, contract development and manufacturing (CDMO), AI-driven diagnostics, and gene therapy.

China, of course, stands out as the region’s most prolific participant in these partnerships. Chinese firms are involved in over half of the collaborations recorded during this period, particularly in areas like ADCs, CDMO services, AI-powered diagnostics, and imaging systems. Companies such as WuXi XDC, Minghui Pharmaceutical, Belief BioMed, and United Imaging exemplify how Chinese biotech and medtech companies are forming both domestic and cross-border alliances to consolidate their leadership in innovation and manufacturing.