China’s Pharma Sector Is Redrawing the Global Deal Map

The global pharmaceutical deal market is entering an innovation cycle. Following a significant recalibration of the capital environment, transaction activity has rebounded sharply. However, the more consequential development is how the structure and direction of dealmaking are changing. Chinese pharmaceutical companies are no longer participating in global transactions; they are becoming a pivotal source of the assets and technologies reshaping the industry’s innovation landscape.

SS&C Intralinks’ new report, China’s Outbound Pharma Play: Trends, Challenges and a Reshaped Global Deal Landscape, produced with PharmCube, examines this transformation through transaction data spanning 2016 to 2025. Covering license-in, domestic transactions, license-out and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the report explores not only the market’s rapid expansion but also the deeper structural questions confronting pharmaceutical companies as transactions become more international, complex and strategically important.

Global deal value reaches a record as China’s contribution surges

Every strong deal market has a defining story. This time, it isn't simply that pharmaceutical transactions reached record levels — it's that China is accounting for an increasingly significant share of that growth.

Global pharmaceutical deal value climbed to an all-time high of USD 275.1 billion in 2025. China-related transactions contributed USD 138.8 billion, representing roughly half of global deal value, with outbound licensing driving much of that activity. 

Viewed over the past decade, the shift is even more pronounced. Global deal value has expanded nearly sixfold since 2016, while China-related transaction value grew 135 percent in the latest year. The data suggests that China's role is no longer defined by participation alone. The country is increasingly shaping where capital flows and how global pharmaceutical innovation is commercialized.

Deal structures diversify as co-development and NewCo models gain traction

As Chinese pharmaceutical companies expand globally, they're also becoming more strategic in how they bring innovation to market. Rather than relying on conventional licensing alone, companies are increasingly adopting deal structures that better align risk, capital and long-term value creation.

Co-development agreements enable partners to share development costs, risks and future commercial returns while allowing Chinese innovators to remain actively involved throughout an asset's global development. Meanwhile, NewCo structures are emerging as another pathway to international expansion.

Our report identifies 21 NewCo transactions to date, with several of those companies subsequently completing initial public offerings (IPOs) or being acquired. Instead of viewing a transaction as a single monetization event, these structures can create multiple sources of value, combining international commercialization with the potential for future equity appreciation. 

The growing adoption of these models reflects the increasing sophistication of Chinese pharmaceutical companies as they compete on a global stage.

License-out overtakes license-in

Perhaps the clearest indicator of China's changing role is the reversal of its licensing model. For many years, China's pharmaceutical sector relied heavily on licensing overseas innovation for the domestic market. That balance has now shifted, with Chinese companies increasingly exporting innovation to international partners.

License-in activity declined from 142 transactions in 2021 to 45 in 2025, while outbound licensing reached 158 deals. Those transactions accounted for nearly half of total global pharmaceutical deal value and more than one-third of global upfront payments. 

Importantly, this shift isn't being driven by incremental advancements. Chinese companies are emerging as leaders in some of the industry's fastest-growing modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies and small nucleic acid therapeutics.

That strength is reflected in the year's largest transactions. Seven of the world's 10 biggest pharmaceutical deals involved Chinese companies as licensors, including GeneQuantum's USD 13 billion ADC platform agreement with Biohaven and AimedBio, Hengrui's USD 12.5 billion partnership with GSK and Innovent's USD 11.4 billion agreement with Takeda. 

M&A rebounds as Chinese biotechs emerge as acquisition targets

Licensing continues to dominate China's outbound deal activity, but it is no longer the only path attracting global interest. The report identifies a strong rebound in pharmaceutical M&A, with total deal value increasing 129 percent year over year to USD 141.4 billion. Blockbuster acquisitions valued above USD 1 billion also reached their highest level in a decade. 

Perhaps more telling is the type of company attracting buyers. BioNTech's USD 950 million acquisition of Biotheus illustrates a broader trend: overseas pharmaceutical companies are beginning to acquire Chinese innovators outright, rather than simply licensing individual assets.

That represents an important evolution. Licensing validates a specific program. Acquisition reflects confidence in an organization's broader science, platform technologies and future pipeline. For leading Chinese biotechs, international expansion is no longer limited to partnership opportunities — it increasingly includes becoming strategic acquisition candidates.

Chinese companies move to the forefront of megadeals

China's growing influence becomes even clearer when looking at the largest transactions in the market. Global pharmaceutical megadeals reached a record 88 in 2025. Chinese companies participated as licensors in 39 of them — 44 percent of the total — surpassing the U.S. for the first time in a single year. 

The report also highlights China's growing strategic importance to multinational pharmaceutical companies. Among the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies, China ranked second as a source of innovation based on transaction count and first based on deal value, contributing USD 69.2 billion, or 40 percent of total deal value. 

This isn't simply about volume. It reflects how closely Chinese pipelines align with multinational portfolio priorities. Companies including Merck & Co., Roche and AstraZeneca have each completed multiple megadeals with Chinese partners, particularly across oncology, immunology, endocrinology and neuroscience. 

Execution efficiency becomes a competitive differentiator

As Chinese pharmaceutical companies expand their global reach, success will depend on more than scientific innovation alone. Whether pursuing outbound licensing, co-development partnerships, NewCo structures or acquisitions, companies must also demonstrate the ability to execute increasingly complex cross-border transactions with the speed, security and governance international partners expect.

Increasingly, digital transaction infrastructure is becoming a competitive differentiator in its own right. Organizations using purpose-built platforms are better equipped to manage sensitive clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and intellectual property data, streamline due diligence and maintain robust access controls and compliance. As China's role in global pharmaceutical dealmaking continues to grow, the ability to execute transactions efficiently and securely is becoming as important to international success as the quality of the underlying science.

A market undergoing structural change

Taken together, the report's findings point to a pharmaceutical industry undergoing a broader structural transformation. China's growing role in global innovation is reshaping where deals originate, how they're structured and how new therapies reach international markets. For pharmaceutical companies, success will increasingly depend on combining differentiated innovation with the ability to execute transactions efficiently, securely and on a global scale. 

For a deeper analysis of the deals, companies and trends driving this transformation, read the full report.