The latest news from Chinese healthcare and pharma including Western pharmacos’ moves to license therapies from Chinese partners to sell globally, the seismic impact of new COVID lockdown restrictions in major Chinese cities, and the Chinese firms at risk of being delisted in the US if they do not hand over detailed audit documents that back up their financial statements.
J&J targets Chinese biotech deals as western pharma groups look east (FT)
https://www.ft.com/content/bbd79e8e-8eea-4852-a6dd-ff61946b8fac
Johnson & Johnson said it was negotiating partnership deals with two Chinese companies as it taps into a biotech boom in the country driven by a surge in private investment and government support, according to a senior executive.
The talks with the two companies, which J&J declined to name, follow the US drugmaker’s successful collaboration with Legend Biotech, a company founded in China in 2014 but now headquartered in New Jersey. The companies worked together on a breakthrough cell-based cancer therapy that was approved by US regulators last week.
Several other large US pharma groups, including Eli Lilly, AbbVie and Amgen have clinched similar agreements over the past two years as western drugmakers increasingly seek to license high-potential therapies from Chinese partners to sell in other markets.
China: Businesses shut as officials widen Covid lockdowns (BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60703301
Multinational companies have halted some operations as China widens its Covid lockdowns – among its biggest since the start of the pandemic.
Tens of millions of people across the country face restrictions, including the entire Jilin province and technology hub Shenzhen, as authorities report record numbers of cases.
Toyota, Volkswagen and Apple supplier Foxconn are among the firms affected.
The lockdowns have raised concerns that crucial supply chains may be disrupted.
SEC sets clock for delisting Chinese companies over US audit demand (FT)
https://www.ft.com/content/6ccdaab1-6334-47ae-81f4-84320922cb40
Regulator’s move to enforce law requiring accounting documents sends shares tumbling
Five Chinese companies listed in New York have been named by US regulators as the first of as many as 270 groups that will be delisted if they do not hand over detailed audit documents that back their financial statements.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said that fast-food giant Yum China, biotechnology groups BeiGene, Zai Lab and HutchMed, and technology company ACM Research faced delisting. The announcement triggered a sell-off in Chinese stocks that are traded in the US.
The regulator’s move comes after the US passed a law in December 2020 that required Chinese companies listed in the US to allow watchdogs such as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to review their financial audits.
Domestic Chinese checkpoint inhibitors: a big threat to Western pharma? (Clinical Trials Arena)
https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/comment/domestic-chinese-checkpoint-inhibitors/
The Chinese market is expected to be a diminishing source of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) revenue for Western companies.
Due to its large populace, the Chinese market has historically provided a lucrative, third wave of revenue for Western-developed drugs following their marketing in the US and Europe. But significant investment by the Chinese government, together with regulatory reform and international partnerships, has led to the development of multiple domestically developed Chinese agents in recent years, generating substantial competition for Western-developed drugs. The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has been a strong focus of China’s research and development (R&D) strategy, with these very expensive agents being utilised across an increasing number of oncology indications.
Ping An Good Doctor reports revenue of RMB 7,334 Million in 2021 (PR Newswire)
HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited (“Ping An Good Doctor”; Stock Code: 01833.HK) announced its 2021 annual results. During the reporting period, the Company maintained steady growth with total revenue reaching RMB7,334 million. Total gross margin reached 23.3%. In particular, medical services contributed revenue of RMB2,288 million, representing 31.2% of total revenue. Building on the “health maintenance organizations (HMO) + family doctor memberships + O2O-based medical services” model, the cumulative number of paying users crossed 38 million in 2021 while the conversion rate of paying users increased to 24.8%.
