China’s rise as a source of innovative drugs is being driven by clinical trial environment that is proving to be a cost-effective and rapid option on the global stage, as per discussions at a recent event.
At the Outsourcing in Clinical Trials West Coast conference, held 10–11 February in Burlingame, California, one of the key topics discussed was the significant role of China in the global clinical trial landscape. Clinical trials in China were said to account for approximately 30% of all clinical trials; a statistic made particularly noteworthy when this growth in trials relative to global studies is six times what it was in 2016, as per GlobalData, the parent company of Clinical Trials Arena.
As per GlobalData figures, clinical trials are 50–60% cheaper in China compared to the US. “In addition to lower cost, China shows considerable speed advantages in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, particularly for non-oncology indications, with the trials being 60-70% faster in some cases,” said Revati Tatake, Global head of Pharma and Competitive Intelligence, GlobalData.
The low cost and high speed associated with the clinical trial infrastructure to develop these drugs has emerged as a key advantage for the pharmaceutical industry in China.
“China offers both lower costs and faster execution, which can be particularly compelling option for early-phase studies,” Tatake added.
Regulatory changes supporting growth
Alongside these changes have been several regulatory developments in the country. Historical concerns about intellectual property rights have been allayed by the introduction of data exclusivity protection in 2025.
As per China’s National Medicinal Products Administration (NMPA), the average review timeline for clinical trial applications is 50 working days. More recently, in 2024, the NMPA introduced a pilot program to expedite reviews for innovative therapies. After the program concluded, the NMPA announced a 30-day expedited review pathway in addition to its existing approval mechanism, for innovative drugs that are a high priority, in October 2025.
Moreover, when China joined the International Council of Harmonization (ICH) in 2017, it allowed for its trial infrastructure to align with global standards. The growth in clinical trial infrastructure built over decades, which is linked to the country’s sprawling hospital system that caters to a large group of patients and potential clinical trial participants, is also a key factor in this paradigm.
The drug discovery growth engine driven by preclinical and clinical research has also led to a rise in licensing opportunities. “Despite the geopolitics, as evident from increased deals activity from China to the West, the pharma industry continues to look for opportunities in China,” said Tatake. The total value of out-licensing deals in China was $115bn in 2025, and 30% of these deals were with companies based in the US, as per GlobalData. Some of the key ones include, GSK’s deal with Hengrui, the $11.4bn Takeda-Innovent deal, and Novartis’s RNA-focused deals with Shanghai Argo.
Globally, China accounts for the second most drugs in development after the US. Among the assets being studied in China, oncology is the most dominant therapeutic area. Of particular note in this area is the work done with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapies, as the country continues to have more CAR-T therapies in development than the US. Moreover, while the US has been the leader for developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), the number of investigational ADCs from China garnered a small lead over those in the US for the first time in the last five years in 2025, as per GlobalData.
For more information on the OCT West Coast conference, click here.
