The newly released 2026 edition of Clarivate’s Drugs to Watch report highlights 11 potential blockbusters that could change treatment paradigms for patients.

Hutchmed (China) Ltd. has moved closer to establishing China’s first domestically developed FGFR-targeted therapy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, after the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) accepted its NDA for fanregratinib (HMPL-453) and granted the drug priority review.

Hanx Biopharmaceuticals (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. raised HK$586 million (US$75.37 million) in its IPO on the Hong Kong Securities Exchange (HKEX:3378) on Dec. 23 to advance its clinical stage immuno-oncology pipeline.

China’s National Medical Products Administration approved Innovent Biologics Inc.’s NDA for Tabosun (ipilimumab N01, IBI-310) in combination with sintilimab as neoadjuvant treatment for stage IIB-III resectable microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient colon cancer.

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.

Abbisko Therapeutics Co. Ltd. and its partner Merck KGaA got an early Christmas present from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) with the approval of pimicotinib (ABSK-021), the first domestically developed systemic therapy for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT).

Daiichi Sankyo Inc. told BioWorld it voluntarily placed a partial hold in recruitment and enrollment in the phase III IDeate-Lung02 study of antibody-drug conjugate ifinatamab deruxtecan because of a higher than anticipated incidence of grade 5 interstitial lung disease events. The company did not say how many deaths there had been.

Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Group Co. Ltd. is outlicensing its phase I pan-KRAS inhibitor, JAB-23E73, to Astrazeneca plc in a global deal worth up to $1.915 billion that gives Astrazeneca global rights to the compound outside of China, and the two companies will jointly develop and commercialize the asset in China.

Insilico Medicine Inc. plans to raise HK$2.27 billion (US$292 million) in its IPO on the Hong Kong Securities Exchange to advance its clinical pipeline and invest further in generative AI and automated laboratories.