The Star Daily reported on December 8 (Special Correspondent Gao Qing) that in recent years, from the perspective of the number of clinical pipelines and approved products, new drug development in China is progressing towards higher clinical value, and china has become the second largest country in the world for original approved new molecular entity drugs.

However, from the performance in capital markets, the medical health market index and sector valuation levels have declined significantly, while equity financing in the innovative drug field has fallen back to levels seen in 2018-2019.

Currently, Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies are facing issues such as tight funding and lack of financing channels, making 'going global' a major topic of concern for enterprises of all sizes within the industry. At the recent 9th Pharmaceutical Innovation and Investment Conference, entrepreneurs, investors, and experts discussed together, striving to provide new ideas and insights for the financing paths of companies and products at different stages of development.

During the discussions, the attendees unanimously agreed that the biomedical industry should be based on a global perspective and actively respond to challenges posed by geopolitical issues and market differences. Innovative pharmaceutical companies face both opportunities and challenges in the process of going global, needing to reasonably choose between mature markets like europe and the usa or emerging markets based on their product characteristics and market demands.

Whether it is a strategy of transformation or a passive behavior under capital pressure, 2024 will become the inaugural year of massive outbreaks in authorized trades, and going global has become an important direction for local pharmaceutical companies' development; however, careful consideration is needed when choosing how to go global and selecting partners.

Many experts mentioned that in product trade, local pharmaceutical companies need to pay more attention to profit distribution, aiming to retain potential products for self-development to increase their commercial value. The NewCo model is formed under specific market conditions and is not a long-term plan for local pharmaceutical companies' global expansion; local companies should be positioned for internationalization from inception and establish better value discovery mechanisms in the future to adapt to the path of sustained development.

From the perspective of source innovation, recent effective institutional reforms have helped the domestic pharmaceutical industry become a source of application-oriented innovation, which is also an important guarantee for the global recognition of our innovative drugs; from the perspective of corporate strategy, investment risks in the europe and usa markets are high but the potential returns are great, requiring high levels of product innovation and differentiation, while issues such as regulatory recognition in emerging markets need urgent solutions, and companies can share risks through strategies like technology transfer, authorization, or establishing a NewCo.

Despite the market operating as usual, investors' attitudes have become more cautious, stated Zhao Weny, managing director and co-head of the medical industry group at goldman sachs, as well as a member of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Committee. Excellent clinical data is the focus for enhancing corporate value and financing, and investors are more inclined to provide additional funds to companies after milestone events to unlock product value.

As innovative achievements go global, chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies are exploring more international experiences.

The executive vice president, head of R&D, and chief medical officer of hutchmed (china), Shi Ming, shared the journey and experiences of hutchmed (china) in promoting the launch of furmonertinib in major global markets such as the usa, europe, and japan. Shi believes that the successful internationalization of innovative drugs relies on differentiated product layouts, and the design of preclinical studies and clinical trials should meet the requirements of regulatory authorities in different countries and regions. Moreover, stable production processes and comprehensive quality management systems are crucial factors for gaining international recognition.

Qiming Venture Capital's managing partner, Liang Yingyu, similarly provided profound insights and reflections on the future development direction of the chinese pharmaceutical and medical device industry. She believes that given the current complex and changing market environment, both entrepreneurs and the venture capital industry face tremendous challenges. The strategies for the next 20 years will be vastly different compared to the past 20 years. Aspects such as chinese corporate branding, clinical trial capabilities, data presentation formats, and levels of international operation all require time and practical validation.

At the same time, she emphasized the importance of the esg concept in pharmaceutical and medical device companies.ESGWith the global focus on sustainable development and social responsibility deepening, innovative pharmaceutical and medical device companies should pay more attention to environmental protection, social responsibility, and the transparency of corporate governance in their R&D, production, and distribution processes. In promoting global health efforts, they should engage in international cooperation, optimize policies and legal environments, and drive the development of global health initiatives to reduce health disparities between developed and developing countries.