Foreign medical device innovators accessing the Chinese market remain at a disadvantage to local companies, even after the recent regulatory pathway revision.

Any delays caused by unpredictable regulatory reviews related to the export of genetic materials threaten to derail the inclusion of China in international clinical trials, caution two trade groups representing the pharma industry in the country.

Everest Medicines’ deal with Canadian biotech Providence Therapeutics contains a full transfer of technology which may be appealing to Chinese regulators.

One initial public offering and six private funding deals add a total of $357m into the biotech funding pot in China as multiple new ventures look to progress pipeline assets and build capabilities.

The approval of China's second CAR-T therapy has come amid reimbursement challenges, despite the pricing of its direct competitor being much lower than in the US. Chinese developers are pinning their hopes on rapid domestic market expansion via commercial insurance tie-ups as other CAR-Ts move through local development.

Inclusion into China's national reimbursement drug list alone does not guarantee revenue growth but in some cases higher volumes seem to be offsetting the requisite big price cuts, reveal second-quarter results from some leading publicly-traded biotechs in the country.