China’s push to become a biotech powerhouse is paying off, with innovative R&D pipelines and newly approved drugs accounting for over 30 per cent of the global total, according to the country’s top economic planner.
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The sector was showing strong momentum, said Xiang Libin, deputy chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), who cited the figures at the 17th China Bioindustry Convention in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Thursday.
China’s bioeconomy, encompassing the research, development and application of life sciences and biotechnology, now contributed over 7 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, Xiang added.
A report released at the conference ranked China second globally in the number of drugs under development, underscoring its progress in closing the gap with the United States.
The national drug and medical device regulator approved 93 new drugs in 2024, the most in five years. Patent applications for medical devices also exceeded 91,500, accounting for 70 per cent of the global total, according to the report.
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The NDRC also introduced an “insights system” at the convention to aggregate data across the full R&D, approval and market chain. Officials said it would help the government and industry to identify opportunities and break through bottlenecks in the push for drug innovation.