Mabwell, the first Chinese biotech company to complete an A-to-H share listing under Hong Kong's Chapter 18A biotech regime, believes out-licensing deals should be viewed primarily as a financing tool rather than the ultimate objective for China's innovative drugmakers, Chairman and CEO Liu Datao told China Daily.
His comments come as Chinese biotech firms increasingly sign out-licensing agreements with multinational drugmakers to secure funding and expand overseas, fueling a wave of multi-billion-dollar transactions in recent years.
According to the National Medical Products Administration, the value of the cross-border out-licensing deals for China's innovative drugs hit a record $60 billion in the first quarter, a 73 percent increase year-on-year, and already amounting to nearly half of the total $135.7 billion worth of agreements signed in full-year 2025.
Liu said such transactions are an important source of financing, particularly for young biotech companies that often spend years investing in research before generating product revenue.
"Many innovative drug developers have no commercialized products in their early years and rely on equity financing, business development partnerships and licensing income to continue research," Liu said.
