New Reports Examine America’s China Biopharma Threat

This week, two major research reports were released that offer fresh industry insight into China’s rapid biopharma growth and the potential impact on U.S. global competitiveness.

McKinsey & Company highlighted China’s undisputed foothold as Asia’s innovation leader. As countries like South Korea and India have stood out, combining ambition with strategic investment to build their capabilities, China is responsible for nearly a third of the global pipeline. TD Cowen collected expert perspectives when exploring how geopolitical friction, pricing pressures, and supply chain dependencies could reshape strategies for U.S. biotech firms.

McKinsey surveyed how China has grown to represent 29% of the global innovative pipeline. Despite the shift from me-too drugs to first-in-class innovation, China still stands out for speed, moving drugs from discovery to approval 50-70% faster than the rest of the world and. recruiting trial participants two to five times more quickly than the U.S. and U.K.

Trial execution and regulatory efficiency remain key advantages. In 2023, China handled 39% of global clinical trials and cut drug approval times from 4 1/2 years to about one year, McKinsey reported.

"In an era when biopharma success depends on both scientific excellence and operational agility," the report concluded, "Asia stands not at the edge of global innovation, but at its center."

TD Cowen’s report provided its own temperature reading on U.S. global competition.

It featured interviews with several industry leaders, depicting how mounting cost pressures, geopolitical friction, particularly between the United States and China, and persistent funding challenges have shaped perspective about the future of the innovative life sciences.

Mary Lynne Hedley is a partner at Third Rock Ventures, a venture capital firm with a focus on the health care industry.

“Whatever China cannot do today, it will master tomorrow,” Hedley said in the TD Cowen report. “It is a mistake to assume China will remain a fast follower. They will compete as innovators and are subsidized and incentivized to make that transition.”

In the U.S., key domestic pressures such as HHS disruptions, tariff policies, most-favored-nation drug pricing models, and reduced federal support for university-led research have driven concerns that R&D investment may decline, ultimately impeding American innovation.

The timing is inopportune.

China’s growth is fueled by state-backed programs like Made in China 2025 and Healthy China 2030. For the U.S. to maintain its edge, TD Cowen’s report emphasized leveraging strengths in cutting-edge science, robust IP protections, and global partnerships while accelerating regulatory efficiency and sustaining R&D investment.

Mike Kuiken serves on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

“China is marching through or over every hurdle, flattening traditional constraints and

redefining success on its own term,” Kiuken told TD Rowen. “The North Star guiding every policy decision is displacing the United States as the world’s leading economic and technological power.”