China's Biotech Licensing Fees Just Doubled — Europe's Discount Window Is Shut

European pharma spent years quietly sourcing pipeline assets from Chinese biotechs at bargain prices. That era is over. Average upfront licensing fees have more than tripled since 2022, China now supplies nearly a third of the global drug pipeline, and the competition for access has gone global. Here is what European founders and investors need to understand — and do — before the next deal cycle begins.

What happened in China The numbers are no longer incremental. They are structural. China out-licensing hit a record $137.7 billion in 2025, according to Reuters. Chinese companies signed overseas licensing deals worth $135.7 billion across 157 transactions in that period. By the end of 2025, the NMPA reported over 150 out-licensing deals for China-originated drugs valued at more than US$130 billion, breaking previous records. In just the first two months of a recent reporting period, China biotech out-licensing alone topped US$52 billion. The deal count has risen sharply too. Licensing deals rose in 2025 to 92 compared to the previous year's 64, according to Evaluate data cited by PharmaVoice. Over 60 licensing deals between Chinese companies and U.S. or European drugmakers occurred in 2024 alone. And 30% of licensing deals from big pharma now involve a Chinese biotech. Behind the volume is a pipeline that has been quietly rebuilt…

China's Biotech Licensing Fees Just Doubled — Europe's Discount Window Is Shut

Subscribe to read the full article