Regulatory uncertainty that dominated the life science sector in 2025 is transitioning into an execution framework for biotechnology companies, provided companies can tailor regulatory strategies early, and across the entire development cycle.

Beone Medicines Ltd. gained an exclusive option to develop cancer immunotherapy HH-160 worldwide in a deal potentially worth more than $2 billion for Huahui Health Ltd., the developer of the trispecific antibody.

China’s investigator-initiated trial (IIT) system is increasingly being used to generate early human data in cell and gene therapies, and new changes that widen the pathway are expected to drive more multinational companies to conduct IITs in China, panelists said during the Chinabio Partnering Forum in Shanghai April 28-29.

Wall Street pundits were divided about the likely fate of ivonescimab, Summit Therapeutics Inc.’s bispecific antibody partnered with Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Hong Kong, and undergoing phase III testing in first-line squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised the bar for next-generation immuno-oncology, reporting more than 23 months median overall survival in pancreatic cancer with its PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab, as emerging competitors begin to post earlier signals across solid tumors at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego April 17 to 22.

Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd.’s HK$1.8 billion (US$230 million) raise on Jan. 9 was the sole Chinese biotech IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, despite a growing backlog of more than 70 filings from China life science firms in 2025. Among med-tech companies, Hangzhou Diagens Biotechnology Co. Ltd. debuted with a $101 million Hong Kong IPO March 30, 2026.

China’s biotech ecosystem has crossed an inflection point, and Chinese biotechs are gaining leverage in dealmaking, executives from multinational companies said during the Chinabio Partnering Forum in Shanghai April 28.

Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. reported positive data from a local phase III study of dirozalkib (Xuan Fei Ning), an ALK inhibitor approved in China to treat patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Following its 2022 debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market, Mabwell (Shanghai) Bioscience Co. Ltd. is aiming to raise up to HK$1.44 billion (US$184.78 million) in an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to advance its Nectin4-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) 9MW-2821 (bulumtatug fuvedotin).

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd reported early clinical signals across its next-generation immuno-oncology pipeline, including response rates of up to 71% in metastatic colorectal cancer and 45.5% in hepatocellular carcinoma, at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in San Diego.