Chongqing - China’s innovative pharmaceutical sector is rapidly expanding overseas, with outbound licensing deals totaling USD 92 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, ranking second globally after the United States and accounting for about 40 percent of worldwide license-out transactions, according to industry data.
With rapid growth and a high concentration of large-scale deals, China has emerged as one of the world’s most dynamic hubs for the globalization of innovative drugs. Against this backdrop, Chongqing is accelerating its strategic push into innovative drug development.
At a recent press conference held at Chongqing International Biological Park, city officials said that strong policy coordination, growing industry clusters, and deeper international engagement have put the city’s innovative pharmaceutical sector on a fast growth track.
A panoramic view of Chongqing International Biological Park. (Photo/Chongqing International Biological Park)
Multi-department coordination to break bottlenecks
Biomedicine is a core pillar of the city’s RMB 600 billion–level industrial cluster system under Chongqing’s “33618” modern manufacturing framework. Serving as the city’s primary platform for biopharmaceutical development, Chongqing International Biological Park is accelerating efforts to build a comprehensive ecosystem for innovative drug research, development, and commercialization.
Innovative drug development is widely characterized by long R&D cycles, heavy capital requirements, stringent regulatory standards, and complex commercialization pathways, often involving multiple government departments. To address these challenges, Chongqing has established a dedicated coordination mechanism that brings together 21 municipal departments into a unified task force.
Centered on Chongqing International Biological Park, close coordination between municipal and district authorities has enabled targeted support in key areas, including drug review and approval, clinical trial alignment, market access, and financing.
For example, to ease early-stage funding constraints faced by Genrix Bio, an innovative biopharmaceutical company based in Chongqing International Biological Park, relevant departments coordinated with Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank to provide a RMB 3 billion loan, effectively supporting the company’s innovative drug R&D activities.
With industry–academia–research–medical collaboration as a central pillar, Chongqing is accelerating the translation of scientific achievements and the cultivation of innovative market players, supported by platforms such as the Chongqing International Institute for Immunology. To date, Chongqing International Biological Park has fostered 25 high-tech enterprises and 22 “specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative” small and medium-sized enterprises.
In terms of R&D capacity, Chongqing currently has more than 100 innovative drugs under development, 42 of which have entered clinical trial stages. Chongqing International Biological Park alone accounts for 56 projects under development and 20 in clinical trials—more than half of the city’s total—solidifying its role as the primary source of innovative drug research in Chongqing.
Boosting global competitiveness of industry leaders
With leading enterprises at the forefront, “Chongqing-made” innovative drugs are increasingly reaching both domestic and international markets. Genrix Bio, Chongqing’s first innovative drug company listed on the STAR Market, achieved a landmark breakthrough with its self-developed Category 1 innovative drug under China’s regulatory classification, Celitizumab Injection, marking the city’s first approved innovative drug. The product has also been included in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s first batch of Landmark Products in Biomanufacturing and is now marketed in 30 provincial-level regions across China, benefiting more than 10,000 patients.
As additional innovative drugs move toward regulatory submission and approval, Chongqing is expected to see one to three innovative drugs approved annually in the coming years, providing patients with a broader range of treatment options.
Internationally, Chongqing is advancing a strategy of “rights-based globalization” through outbound licensing and global partnerships, integrating more deeply into the global pharmaceutical innovation network. Genrix Bio’s bispecific antibody GR1803 Injection has completed an overseas licensing deal valued at USD 712 million, marking Chongqing’s first outbound licensing breakthrough in biologics.
Policy support continues to provide a strong foundation for industry development. Recently, Chongqing released the Measures for Full-Chain Support of High-Quality Development of Innovative Drugs, establishing a comprehensive policy framework that covers the entire lifecycle of innovative drugs—from laboratory research and clinical trials to industrial production, market access, and clinical application. This injects fresh momentum into the growth of the high-quality industry.
Looking ahead, Chongqing will continue to strengthen both its industrial and innovation chains, driving a comprehensive upgrade of the innovative drug sector and enhancing its global competitiveness. Over the next five years, the Chongqing International Biological Park aims to foster two leading innovative drug companies, develop three enterprises with annual revenues exceeding RMB 20 billion, and expand the biopharmaceutical industry to a total output value exceeding RMB 150 billion.