10 orphan drugs imported from overseas, and 40 new drug approvals, including many from domestic developers, capped 2023 as one of the busiest years for China's drug regulatory agency, as Beijing pivoted to emphasizing affordable innovation and expanding access to newer therapies for rare conditions.

The withdrawal of the targeted anticancer comes as no surprise after its Phase III missed in July, but it sets back Takeda’s expansion plans in the competitive therapy area.

Chinese biotechs Biokin, Dizal, Junshi and Kelun Biotech are presenting four of the most closely-followed oral reports at ASCO on new clinical results for their candidates for non-small cell lung cancer.

Promising new clinical results presented at ESMO are likely to help several Chinese firms gain traction to take their new drug candidates into global markets, including the US.