Advertisement
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals
TechTech Trends

China’s rise in biotech to potentially lower healthcare costs, life science investor says

Innovative drugs coming out of China’s biotech firms have become increasingly popular licensing targets for MNCs

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
3
Of the top 10 global drug deals by transaction volume in the first half, seven involved licensing from Chinese firms. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Xinmei Shen

China’s rise in biotech innovation offers the world a potentially cheaper alternative to costly healthcare products from Western suppliers, but geopolitical tensions remain a major challenge for the country’s globalisation efforts, according to a local investor in the sector.

“We can lower the cost of healthcare and benefit more people through technological innovation and efficiency improvement,” Da Liu, managing director of CR-CP Life Science Fund, said in an interview with the Post earlier this week. “China’s recent achievements in biotech show that it’s possible.”

The CR-CP Life Science Fund was launched in 2019 by the state-run China Resources Group and Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, with US$170 million under management. Companies the fund has backed include Legend Biotech, which went public in New York in 2020, and Singapore-based Mirxes, which listed its shares in Hong Kong in May this year.

Advertisement
Innovative drugs coming out of China’s biotech firms have become increasingly popular licensing targets among multinational corporations (MNCs) in recent years, leading to what some are calling a “DeepSeek moment” for the local industry.
Da Liu, managing director of CR-CP Life Science Fund. Photo: Handout
Da Liu, managing director of CR-CP Life Science Fund. Photo: Handout
Multinationals have turned their attention to Chinese biotech companies and assets because of their “cost efficiencies, accelerated timelines and promising quality”, US investment bank Jefferies said in a report last month.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x