Journey East: How Chinese Returnees Build Global-Bound Biopharmas

From Money To Talent To Collaboration, Challenges Keep Coming

As Chinese returnees transform their startups to fully-fledged biopharma operations with a full product lineup and the global market in sight, the journey has been filled with challenges. Based on interviews and on-the-ground reporting, this new series takes a closer look at several companies' experiences.

Business uncertainty and risk showing a winding road high above the clouds showing the concept of danger and challenges faced in business and the corporate world of finance and financial services.
CHINESE BIOTECH TO BIOPHARMA JOURNEY FILLED WITH CHALLENGES • Source: Shutterstock

After spending eight years with Merck & Co., Inc. in the US as a senior researcher, Zhongru Gan felt he was ready to start something new. In 1994, Gan founded a small biotech, Gantech Pharma, in the US but the next year returned to China knowing there was an acute need for high-level life science researchers like himself.

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Scrip for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required

More from China

Transient FY26 For Syngene But Momentum In China +1 Projects

 

As biopharma derisks its business with China ‘rebalancing’ strategies, Syngene could convert majority of such pilots into full program contracts amid a challenging FY2025. The CRDMO also expects business discussions pertaining to a newly acquired US biologics site to mature into commercial opportunities.

Zai’s R&D Head Touts ‘Beauty’ Of Novel Internal Assets

 

Two potentially first-in-class molecules signify Zai Lab’s renewed drive for the in-house discovery of drugs that it requires “to be innovative, differentiated and to have the potential to make a big difference for patients,” its global R&D head tells Scrip.

CSPC’s Global-First Monospecific ADC Promising In Advanced NSCLC

 
• By 

CSPC’s SYS6010, the first monospecific EGFR-targeting antibody-drug conjugate in the clinic for advanced NSCLC, has shown Phase I promise, but could face close competition with another China-originated bispecific.

Akeso Explains Ivonescimab Prelim OS Data After Investors’ Negative Reactions

 

Akeso explains the circumstances behind the release of preliminary overall survival data from a head-to-head Phase III trial with ivonescimab in lung cancer, which some investors viewed as disappointing.

More from Focus On Asia

CSPC’s Global-First Monospecific ADC Promising In Advanced NSCLC

 
• By 

CSPC’s SYS6010, the first monospecific EGFR-targeting antibody-drug conjugate in the clinic for advanced NSCLC, has shown Phase I promise, but could face close competition with another China-originated bispecific.

NIH Funding Cut Left Less Money On R&D Table, Tariffs Would Add To Woes: Aragen’s CEO

 
• By 

Funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health, big pharma’s US onshoring moves, GCC partnerships and talks with the Indian government to solve intellectual property challenges are discussed in an interview with Aragen’s CEO, who is also keenly watching the Trump administration’s moves on pharma tariffs

Akeso Explains Ivonescimab Prelim OS Data After Investors’ Negative Reactions

 

Akeso explains the circumstances behind the release of preliminary overall survival data from a head-to-head Phase III trial with ivonescimab in lung cancer, which some investors viewed as disappointing.