China pharma industry not impacted by Beijing scrutiny of sensitive tech deals, JW chief says

By Andrew Silver

SHANGHAI, May 26 (Reuters) – China’s booming pharmaceutical industry is not being impacted by Beijing’s ‌tightening scrutiny over deals involving sensitive technologies, ‌the CEO of JW Therapeutics said Tuesday.

Global drugmakers are stepping up ​their search for China‑developed experimental medicines as they cut costs ahead of patent expirations, with industry analysts predicting biotech licensing deals would surge to a fresh record ‌this year.

But last month, ⁠China ordered U.S. tech giant Meta to unwind its $2 billion-plus acquisition of AI startup ⁠Manus, as Beijing tightens scrutiny of U.S. investment in domestic firms developing frontier technologies, sending a chill across ​wider industries.

“For ​us, everything is business ​as usual. Our cross-border ‌collaborations, especially in CGT (cell and gene therapies), are particularly dependent on international cooperation. So far, I have not seen any impact,” JW Chief Executive Leo Tian told Reuters.

JW, whose largest shareholder is U.S. drugmaker Bristol ‌Myers Squibb through that firm’s ​wholly owned subsidiary Juno Therapeutics, specializes ​in cell immunotherapy ​products. Tian added that for assets in ‌its pipeline JW was “actively seeking ​cooperations” with ​companies outside China.

Reuters previously reported that China’s blocking of Meta’s acquisition of Manus would heighten the ​risk for global ‌investors looking to invest in advanced tech firms ​with ties to the country.

(Reporting by Andrew ​Silver; Editing by Gus Trompiz)