China Galaxy Securities has released a research report expressing a positive outlook on investment opportunities in the healthcare sector for 2026. Following recent market fluctuations and adjustments, the sector is expected to resume an upward trajectory in 2026. The investment strategy focuses on identifying hard technology in healthcare and alpha within specific sub-sectors. Recommendations include paying attention to innovative drugs (leaders with Best-in-Class and First-in-Class pipelines), innovative medical devices (imaging, high-value consumables, consumer medical devices, etc.), and medical AI. Also worth monitoring are the recovery in healthcare consumption (medical aesthetics, branded traditional Chinese medicine, ophthalmology, etc.) and independent third-party ICL (Independent Clinical Laboratory) services.
ASCO 2026 Conference Commences with Record-High Number of Domestic Drug Candidates
The 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting is being held in Chicago, USA, from May 29 to June 2, 2026. This year's ASCO meeting features 95 research abstracts led and selected by Chinese scholars, including oral presentations, rapid oral reports, and clinical science symposiums. This number sets a new historical record, surpassing the 74 abstracts from 2025. Notably, there are 12 Late-Breaking Abstracts (LBAs), which are highly anticipated. The HARMONi-6 study on Akeso's ivonescimab is the only Chinese research selected for the Plenary Session this year and only the second-ever Chinese domestic innovative drug study to enter this significant session in ASCO's history. To date, the ASCO 2026 abstracts have been fully released, with a large batch of key domestic innovative drugs disclosing core clinical data, attracting significant attention from the global capital markets.
Multiple Domestic Drugs Report Impressive Data, Marking New Breakthroughs in Oncology Treatment
The 2026 ASCO meeting showcased numerous achievements from domestic innovative drugs. The following pipelines are considered noteworthy:
1. Innovent Biologics' IBI363: Phase I clinical study for IO-pretreated NSCLC (squamous cell carcinoma subgroup mOS 18.2 months, 24-month OS rate 47.8%); Phase I clinical study for first-line advanced NSCLC (3→1.5 mg/kg dose group, ORR 86.4%, DCR 100% in PD-L1 negative/low expression population).
2. Akeso's AK112: Phase III clinical study (HARMONi-6) in combination with chemotherapy for first-line advanced squamous NSCLC (mOS 27.9 months, HR=0.66; mPFS 11.1 months vs. 6.9 months); Phase II clinical study in combination with chemotherapy for first-line advanced colorectal cancer.
3. BeiGene's BGB43395 + letrozole combination therapy: Phase I clinical study for first-line HR+ HER2- breast cancer; BGB-B2033: Phase I clinical study for second-line advanced solid tumors; Zanubrutinib + sotoclax combination therapy: Phase III study for first-line CLL.
4. Kelun-BoTai's SKB264 in combination with Keytruda: Phase III clinical study for first-line NSCLC.
5. Henlius' HLX43: Phase II clinical study for median second-line or later pretreated advanced NSCLC.
2026 National Reimbursement Drug List Adjustment Plan Released with Optimized Rules
On May 9 and May 31, 2026, the National Healthcare Security Administration successively released the draft for comments and the final plan for the 2026 National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) adjustment. The main adjustments in this plan are as follows:
1) Adjustment of Application Rules: Implementation of a pre-application mechanism; addition of 3 new application channels: ① Drugs listed in the Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Catalog can apply directly for inclusion in the basic medical insurance, establishing a gradient access path of "first commercial insurance, then national insurance." This allows high-priced innovative drugs to gain coverage through commercial insurance first, and be included in the NRDL after they mature in the market. ② Conditionally approved drugs (approved after 2020, converted to regular approval after 2023) enjoy an extended application window of 5 years during the conditional approval period plus 3 years after conversion to regular approval, encouraging companies to complete confirmatory clinical studies after conditional approval. ③ For drugs that previously failed in negotiations or were removed from the list, the first new drug with the same generic name can re-apply, creating an opportunity for the next-generation drugs with the same target/mechanism to re-enter the NRDL.
2) Optimization of Renewal and Bidding Rules.
3) Strengthening of Conditions for Removal from the List.
4) Overall Advancement of Timeline Milestones.
Key Investment Risks to Consider
Potential risks include increased macroeconomic pressure leading to insufficient growth in healthcare consumption capacity, policies related to innovative drug reimbursement falling short of expectations, risks of global order shifts due to geopolitical factors, and risks of centralized procurement or fee reductions exceeding market expectations.
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