Pace, price of China licensing deals continues to rise

Assets out-licensed by biopharmas based in China accounted for at least 21 deals in December and January, the most ever in a two-month stretch, according to BioCentury’s BCIQ database. In 10 of those deals in which the upfront payment was disclosed, the licensees’ outlays totaled $672 million.

The pace of deal-making has picked up along with the buzz around innovative assets from China. The widespread perception is that high-quality programs from that country are progressing through clinical studies more rapidly and are available for deals at lower prices compared with those generated by Western biotechs. Data show that the upfront prices paid by licensees were often quite small a few years ago, but have been rising, according to a BioCentury analysis...