One Chinese biotech executive is entertaining hopes of China’s domestic market for novel drugs growing to CNY300bn ($41bn). However, the country’s public payer spent just CNY90bn on such products in 2023 and is expected to increase expenditure to more than CNY100bn this year.

Novel agents in immuno-oncology headline the drug center’s upcoming goal dates, while gene therapies make up most of the biologic center’s workload.

AstraZeneca’s sipavibart for preventing COVID-19 in the highly vulnerable population of immunocompromised patients is among the latest drugs that the European Medicines Agency has started to review for potential pan-EU marketing authorization.

Ninety-five percent of novel cancer treatments approved in both the US and Europe received the FDA’s OK first, but Europe usually followed within a year, a Pink Sheet analysis shows.