China proposes curbs on foreign acquisitions of critical biopharma technologies
- China is proposing new restrictions on foreign acquisitions of critical biopharma technologies as it seeks to keep control of its fast-growing drug development industry.
- Trade coverage of the draft (Fierce) describes it as targeting full transfers of proprietary cell and gene therapy, siRNA and pathogen gain-of-function platforms, while standard out-licensing and CRO/CDMO outsourcing appear to be exempt.
- The final text and timing are not confirmed.
💡 Points
If licensing really stays exempt, the draft mostly shuts the door on buying a Chinese platform company outright while leaving the license-in model that Western pharma has leaned on intact. That nudges deal structure toward options and NewCo licensing, not away from China. Buyers of cell, gene and siRNA platforms are the ones who should re-run their pipelines of targets.
STAT+: China moves to restrict foreign biotech acquisitions ↗