As the 2026 New Year dawned, Beijing was gripped by a severe chill. Yet, within the pharmaceutical sector, the focus on medical innovation continued to intensify.
In December, the National Healthcare Security Work Conference concluded, explicitly listing "supporting the development of commercial health insurance and improving the multi-level healthcare security system" as one of the core tasks for 2026. This was not mere routine policy rhetoric but an overture to a systemic transformation—it signifies that innovative drugs once excluded due to high pricing may, through commercial insurance channels, genuinely reach more patients' lives, while also unlocking funding sources for China's pharmaceutical innovation.
Looking to the future at this juncture of transition, driven by a triple engine of policy paving the way, technological innovation, and globalization, China's pharmaceutical innovation is moving beyond a phase of unbridled growth into a new stage of high-quality development oriented towards clinical needs and patient accessibility.
Policy Paving the Way Over the past decade, national medical insurance negotiations became famous for "soul-crushing price cuts." While securing affordable, effective drugs for patients, this approach also deterred many high-investment, high-risk innovative drugs.
However, signals released at the end of 2025 indicate this logic is beginning to shift.
In the 2025 medical insurance negotiations, 114 drugs were included in the reimbursement list, 50 of which were Class 1 innovative drugs, a record-high proportion. More crucially, the first edition of the "Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Directory" was simultaneously launched, incorporating 19 high-value innovative drugs, including 5 CAR-T cell therapies and several drugs for rare diseases. Domestic drugs accounted for nearly half, demonstrating the global competitiveness of local R&D.
The formation of this dual-drive model, where "basic medical insurance covers the basics and commercial insurance supplements high-end needs," not only alleviates pressure on medical insurance funds but also reserves reasonable profit margins for pioneering innovation. Jin Chunlin, Director of the Shanghai Health Development Research Center, publicly stated that the commercial insurance innovative drug directory and the basic medical insurance directory are not simply substitutive but complementary. The commercial directory can better meet patient medication needs, support innovative drug development, and contribute to a健全 multi-level healthcare security system.
Behind this institutional design lies a renewed understanding of the innovation ecosystem—value is no longer measured solely by price but by clinical benefit and patient accessibility.
It is worth noting that the commercial insurance directory differs from the public bidding of medical insurance negotiations, employing a "confidential negotiation" mechanism instead. This provision helps enhance the global competitiveness of domestic innovative drugs and is a commonly adopted international practice.
In 2026, the parallel operation of the dual directories is expected not only to open new pricing and payment avenues for high-value innovative drugs but also to serve as a "transition period" before inclusion in basic medical insurance, further expanding commercial opportunities and driving the industry's shift from "follow-on innovation" towards "pioneering innovation."
Technological Innovation If policy is the soil, then technology is the seed. In 2026, one of the most striking developments is that brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, which once seemed distant, is gradually becoming a reality.
In October 2025, the proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan for the first time listed brain-computer interfaces as a key future industry. In the healthcare sector, BCI is primarily applicable for restoring mobility in patients with conditions like stroke, quadriplegia, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, and depression.
At the 91st China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) in April 2025, brain-computer interfaces became a focal point of the event. Taking Yirui De Group's full range of non-invasive BCI products as an example, their technology encompasses input BCIs (such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation TMS, transcranial electrical stimulation tDCS/tACS) and output BCIs (such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy fNIRS), filling several technological gaps domestically.
Reportedly, Yirui De's self-developed CCY model TMS device is the world's first single model to achieve sales exceeding 10,000 units, with an installed base of over 10,000 units and cumulative treatments exceeding 100 million patient sessions. Its fNIRS system is the first domestically approved brain detection equipment, compatible with TMS, EEG, and other technologies, playing a key role in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses, childhood developmental disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Currently, over 30 pharmaceutical companies are investing in the BCI field, with financing exceeding RMB 20 billion. Regions like Zhejiang and Hubei have taken the lead in incorporating some BCI rehabilitation projects into local medical insurance coverage, signaling the technology's transition from the laboratory to addressing clinical needs.
In traditional therapeutic areas, technological iteration is equally rapid. Industry insiders suggest 2026 will be a significant year for small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs. siRNA drugs are expanding from rare diseases to chronic conditions—among 64 domestic clinical-stage pipelines, 46 are developed domestically, focusing on major diseases like hepatitis B and hyperlipidemia. Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) are entering an era of "dual payloads" and "dual targets," with targets like CLDN18.2, B7-H3, and TROP2 attracting considerable attention. AI-powered drug discovery platforms can now shorten preclinical cycles by 50%, and continuous flow production technology reduces manufacturing costs by 15%.
IQVIA predicts that obesity drug spending will surge to $108 billion between 2024 and 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 23%-26%, making it the fastest-growing therapeutic area. Du Xiangyang, Chief Pharmaceutical Analyst at Southwest Securities, stated that in the future weight-loss arena, GLP-1RA new drug R&D is shifting towards differentiation, with oral small molecules, long-acting formulations, triple-target agonists, and weight loss with muscle gain becoming hotspots.
Globalization 2025 marked an inflection point for the overseas expansion of China's innovative drugs. As of December 5th, domestic companies had secured 152 out-licensing (business development, BD) deals, with a total value of $141.97 billion, a year-on-year increase of 136.8%; the upfront payments alone reached $6.3 billion, a dramatic surge of 199% year-on-year.
Du Xiangyang indicated that bispecific antibodies, ADCs, and GLP-1RAs will remain the three hot areas for out-licensing. Data shows that in 2025, upfront payments for bispecific antibody BD deals reached $3.5 billion, accounting for 55.6% of all drug BD upfront payments for the year; upfront payments for ADC drugs were $1.59 billion, a year-on-year increase of 654.8%; GLP-1RA weight-loss drugs are also accelerating their global journey, with differentiated directions like triple-target agents, oral formulations, and weight loss with muscle gain attracting significant attention.
Notably, an increasing number of Chinese innovative drug companies are adopting a "Co-Co" model (co-development, co-commercialization), moving beyond the previous model of simply selling products early in development.
A representative from Hengrui Pharmaceuticals stated that China has built the world's most complete and agile pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem. From target discovery and preclinical research to process development and manufacturing, a mature industrial chain supports Biotech companies in operating efficiently with light assets, rapidly translating concepts into products.
As Chinese innovative drug companies mature, more will embed themselves into multinational pharmaceutical companies' global development systems through deep collaboration models.
Policy opens space for innovation, technology provides tools for breakthroughs, and global expansion seeks markets for value—the resonance of these three factors creates unprecedented development opportunities.
Looking back from the vantage point of 2026, China's pharmaceutical innovation has traversed over a decade's journey from a "generic drug powerhouse" to embarking on the path towards an "innovative drug leader." Looking ahead, the triple drive of policy, technology, and globalization will propel the industry forward at an accelerated pace on the road to high-quality development.
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