MRK - AstraZeneca Merck GSK Struck Record $44.1B Licensing Deals With Chinese Drugmakers In 2023: Report | Benzinga
Western pharmaceutical companies and investors are driving a record number of licensing deals with Chinese drugmakers struggling to fund late-stage drug development and global expansion.
What Happened: According to UBS Research, companies like Merck (NYSE:MRK), GSK (NYSE:GSK), and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) signed a record $44.1 billion in biotech licensing deals last year, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The trend continues in 2024, with $9.8 billion worth of deals in the first quarter.
Western pharma companies are expanding their product pipelines as they face patent expirations of lucrative drugs. Meanwhile, Chinese drugmakers are struggling to raise funds domestically due to a stock market slump and a pricing regime overhaul that forces them to drop prices of innovative drugs.
Helen Chen, head of LEK Consulting's healthcare practice in Shanghai, noted that Chinese companies face funding constraints just as their biotech ...