The biotech industry has captured the attention of the entire world due to its phenomenal growth in recent years. According to Grandview Research, the global biotechnology market will exceed USD 1.0 trillion in 2021, with healthcare applications rapidly growing and accounting for more than half of the total market share. In the United States, the biotechnology industry is also thriving. The sector focuses on niche technologies such as DNA sequencing, nanobiotech, and tissue engineering, which is expected to reach USD 389.1 million by 2021, growing at a 13.9% CAGR from 2022 to 2028.
Biotech in China is also lucrative, particularly in the Healthcare sector, owing to significant unmet demand, an aging population, and expanding household budgets for quality products and services as people's living standards improve. China has the world's second-largest healthcare market. However, biotech treatments account for only 12% of China's drug market. According to research firms, the mainland biotech market will double in size by 2023, reaching USD 96 billion from USD 40 billion in 2018.
Biotech companies in the United States and Europe with decades of experience, high-caliber teams, and extensive pipelines include AstraZeneca, Gilead Sciences, Merck KGaA, Novo Nordisk A/S, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis. In contrast, Chinese Biotech companies such as Fosun, BeiGene, HuiGene, Junshi, and Hengrui are still nascent but have more significant growth potential, while there are still revenue and R&D spending disparities between large Biotech companies globally and Chinese Biotech companies.
Even though the biotechnology industry is rapidly evolving, there are challenges and concerns that both businesses and governments must address. Global investment in new drugs has slowed. According to PharmaInvest, funding and investing in new medications decreased by 19% monthly and 47% yearly in April 2022, to 77. In the primary market, the number of IPOs fell by 57% year on year, while the number of funds raised fell by 78%, indicating a significant drop.
Aside from the general decline in investor enthusiasm, the pharmaceutical industry is more competitive than ever. Implementation of the State Council's Opinions on Reform of the System of Evaluation, Review, and Approval of Drugs and Medical Devices outlined the goals of promoting independent research and development of new drugs and improving the quality of generic drugs, resulting in an influx of innovative local pharmaceutical companies and intensifying competition.
Despite market volatility, we believe that companies like BeiGen, Legend Biotech, Zai-Lab, Zennova and BioSpark will survive and thrive, eventually becoming the industry's leading players.
BeiGene, the pioneer of novel drug manufacturing in China, maintains its domestic market leadership while actively seeking collaboration with large biopharma companies worldwide to expand into the international market. Novartis paid USD 2.2 billion to license BeiGene's Tislelizumab in January 2021 to compensate for the lack of PD-1 inhibitors in its pipeline and to expedite the development of its combination therapy.
Legend Biotech is a global, clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to treating and eventually curing life-threatening diseases. It is working on advanced cell therapies using a variety of technology platforms, such as autologous and allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, T-cell receptor, and natural killer cell-based immunotherapy.
Zai-Lab is an established Chinese pharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological disorders. Its primary business is the research and development of novel drugs, which differ from generic drugs in that they can be sold after the patent on the original drug expires and claim to have the same ingredients and effects.
Zennova is a high-tech international pharmaceutical company that focuses on research and development of new drugs, specialty drugs for high-barrier complex pharmaceuticals such as control-release and sustained-release oral drugs, anti-tumor injections, complex suspension and emulsion ophthalmic drugs, and production of full-dosage manufacturing including injectables, oral solid dosage, oncology injectables, and ophthalmic medicines for global markets.
BioSpark is a biotech-focused non-profit organization based in Massachusetts that focuses on creating a biotechnology ecosystem with a collaborative and supportive scholar network, promoting leadership and entrepreneurship, and facilitating life science translation. BioSpark members come from academia as well as industry (biotech, pharma, tech, VC, consulting, law firms, and so on) all over the world.
If you want to learn more about the trends in biotech sectors in both China and US, join us in Manhattan on July 29-30, WIM (World Innovators Meet) 2022 and we will hold a panel, "From China to the World: China's Rapidly Expanding Biotechnology Industry". We invited Leo Tang, Advisor at BioSpark; Bing Yuan, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of OnCusp Therapeutics; Ying Huang, Chief Executive Officer of Legend Biotech; and Dahai Guo, Chairman and CEO of Zennova Pharmaceuticals; Sally (Yuanheng) Wang Liang, Board Member of Peplib, to the panel and to share their thoughts about cutting-edge biotechnology. Meanwhile, you could interact with like-minded business leaders, investors, scholars, and international relations experts on the key issues and opportunities facing U.S-China business collaboration and investments.
Over the course of 2 days, hear from speakers on the past, present, and future of innovation and exchange between China and the world–from trends in Blockchain, IoT, AI, 5G, Biotech and Fintech for 10 sessions, and network with 175 attendees representing top institutional investors, venture funds, and investment firms.