Drug licensing deals between Chinese companies and global pharmaceutical companies surged to a record $137.7B last year, indicating a nearly 10-fold increase since 2021, according to China-based data provider PharmCube.
Companies based in the Greater China region, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, inked 186 cross-border out-licensing deals worth $137.7B in 2025. In 2021, there were 65 such deals worth nearly $13.9B, Reuters reported, quoting PharmCube.
Licensing deals represent a popular strategy that leading drugmakers deploy to replenish pipelines as their blockbuster drugs face copycats with the expiration of key patents.
The findings underscore how Big Pharma is increasingly turning to China for licensing ahead of a massive revenue deficit tied to several notable patent cliffs.
Industry advisory firm Vision Life Sciences projects a potential $200B hit to annual global pharmaceutical revenue from 2026 to 2030 as some of the best-selling medicines lose patent exclusivities, paving the way for generic or biosimilar competition.
According to Vision Lifesciences, Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE)/Astellas (ALPMF) (ALPMY) are among those facing patent expirations for their diabetes drug, Januvia/Janumet, and cancer drug, Xtandi, respectively.
China has remained a major attraction for international drugmakers seeking licensing arrangements this year, as the deal count has already reached 38, while the total value of those deals has approached $49.0B.
The average deal size so far in 2026 stands at $1.3B, indicating a ~76% rise from 2025 and roughly a six-fold increase from the average in 2021. The increase is largely driven by AstraZeneca’s (AZN) obesity drug deal worth up to $18.5B with China’s CSPC Pharmaceutical (CSPCY) (CHJTF) and AbbVie’s (ABBV) cancer drug deal worth up to $5.6B with RemeGen.