As China emerges as a critical commercial market and a source of global innovation, the newly released 2026 edition of Clarivate’s Drugs to Watch report highlights six drugs to watch in the China market for the year ahead.

Biopharma financing values have shown quarterly volatility over the past decade, with surges often concentrated in specific quarters rather than evenly distributed throughout the year.

There was an upbeat message for cell and gene therapy companies in the 2026 industry update presented as the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference opened on Monday, with Tim Hunt, CEO of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, telling delegates that after lean years of learning, adapting and setbacks, the sector is now self-sustaining.

The value of biopharma deals involving nonprofit partners declined sharply over the past several years, falling to about $127.43 million in 2025 after exceeding $21.4 billion in 2021. The 2025 total also represents a steep drop from 2024’s $754.56 million.

Annual biopharma financing values have fluctuated significantly over the past seven years, peaking during the pandemic-era surge in 2020 and 2021 before retreating in 2022. After rebounding to more than $102 billion in 2024, total financings declined in 2025 to $81.21 billion. Monthly totals in the year ranged from just under $3 billion (February and April) to more than $13.68 billion in October. December financings totaled $9.08 billion, comparable to November’s $10 billion collective raise.

Asia, led by China, is no longer just following global pharma trends. It is helping to shape them, and for investors, innovators and policymakers, the question is no longer whether to engage with Asia, but how to engage wisely in this new, more complex world.

BioWorld logged 170 clinical trial updates across phases I through III in November 2025, a decline from 252 updates in October and 230 in September, but higher than the 95 reported in August.

U.S. policy, China’s strategic rise, blockbuster deals and AI dominated South Korea’s biotechnology industry this year, with U.S. tariffs and the Biosecure Act’s hitch onto 2026 legislation serving as major topics of speculation.

Speed and innovation from Asia Pacific’s (APAC) biotechnology sector had big pharma scouring the region for the next oncology heir to Keytruda (pembrolizumab), Merck & Co. Inc.’s reigning blockbuster cancer drug.