投資者押注中國藥企

Chinese biotech groups are on target to raise about $10bn this year from venture capital funding, initial public offerings and licensing deals with overseas pharma companies, in what is partly a bet that Chinese-developed drugs can compete globally.

中國的生物科技集團今年的目標是在風險投資、首次公開發行(IPO)以及與海外製藥公司的許可交易中募集約100億美元，這部分是因爲確信中國研發的藥物可以參與全球競爭。

China contributes about 4 per cent of global drug innovation, compared with 50 per cent from the US, according to Chinese pharmaceutical associations. That mirrors the country’s 4 per cent share of the $157bn that market research group EvaluatePharma estimates was spent globally last year on drug R&D.

據中國藥品協會統計，中國在全球藥物創新中的貢獻約佔4%，美國爲50%。而據市場研究組織EvaluatePharma估計，去年全球藥物研發的投入爲1570億美元，中國在其中的份額也爲4%。

But that share is set to increase as scientists returning from overseas launch start-ups and domestic companies spend more on R&D, with about 800 new molecules currently under development in China — up from 240 in 2012 — about 80 of which are in phase III cLinical trials, according to consultancy McKinsey.

但隨着科學家紛紛從海外回國創辦公司，以及國內企業加大對研發的投入，這一份額也將提高。據諮詢機構麥肯錫(McKinsey)，目前中國正在研發的新藥大約有800種——2012年爲240種——其中約80%處於臨牀III期試驗階段。

Most Chinese innovation consists of “me-too” products that are similar to eXisting medicines and aimed at the domestic market — the world’s second-largest after the US with $117bn in annual pharmaceutical sales.

中國的創新藥大多爲“仿製”藥，它們與現有藥品類似，且針對國內市場。中國的藥品市場已憑藉每年1170億美元的銷售額成爲僅次於美國的世界第二大市場。

However, a number of start-ups are looking to develop innovative products while a quarter of the trials are taking place outside China, McKinsey adds, underlining the increasing global ambitions of Chinese groups.

不過麥肯錫也表示，一些初創企業正尋求研發創新藥，有四分之一的臨牀試驗正在國外進行，突出了中國企業越來越大的全球野心。

But most of the drug trials completed by Chinese drugmakers in the US are early-stage, meaning it will be years before the products reach the market. Furthest ahead in the US is Shanghai-based Zensun’s heart failure drug Neucardin, which is preparing for phase III trials, according to consultancy Pharma Intelligence. Zensun raised $76m in a funding round this month.

但中國製藥商在美國完成的大部分藥物試驗都是早期階段的，這意味着離產品上市還需要幾年的時間。根據諮詢公司Pharma Intelligence，在美國最領先的是上海澤生(Zensun)的抗心衰藥物，“重組人紐蘭格林”(Neucardin)——目前正在準備臨牀III期試驗。澤生在本月最新一輪融資中籌集了7600萬美元。

Nasdaq-listed Chinese biotech company BeiGene in September sold overseas rights to a cancer medication to US drugmaker Celgene for $263m, with a further $980m tied to future sales — the biggest overseas licensing deal yet for a Chinese-developed drug. Celgene also took a $150m equity stake in BeiGene.

9月份，納斯達克(Nasdaq)上市的中國生物科技公司百濟神州(BeiGene)以2.63億美元的價格將一款抗癌藥物的海外權益出售給美國製藥商新基(Celgene)，而且還可以額外獲得未來銷售相關的9.8億美元，這是中國新藥研發迄的最大的海外授權交易。新基還持有百濟神州1.5億美元的股份。

BeiGene launched in 2010 and is conducting trials for two cancer drugs, and another for an anaemia treatment in the US and Australia, as it eyes the international market.

百濟神州成立於2010年，目前正在進行兩種抗癌藥物的試驗，隨着放眼國際市場，該公司還在美國和澳大利亞進行一項針對貧血症治療的試驗。

Mark Alles, Celgene chief executive, is upbeat about the prospects for pharma R&D in China. “True innovation is happening here in China, and multinational companies have to throw away the bias about where to go and how to think about where innovation is happening,” he says.

新基首席執行官馬克?奧爾斯(Mark Alles)對中國新藥研發的前景表示樂觀。他說：“真正的創新正在中國發生，跨國公司必須放下成見去思考要去哪裏，以及創新正在哪裏發生。”

Meanwhile, shares in London-listed Chinese group Chi-Med have more than doubled in value this year after its cancer treatment Savolitinib showed progress in trials run with AstraZeneca, while its bowel cancer medicine Fruquintinib has entered phase III trials in China.

與此同時，倫敦上市的和黃中國醫藥科技（Hutchison China MediTech，簡稱：和黃醫藥）今年的市值也增長了一倍，此前其癌症治療藥物Savolitinib在阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)的主持下取得進展，同時其用於治療腸癌的藥物呋喹替尼(Fruquintinib)在中國也進入了臨牀III期試驗。

Chinese biotech companies have raised $2.8bn from market listings in the past 12 months, according to McKinsey. WuXi Biologics, which in August sold rights to a drug developed with another Chinese group to US company Arcus Biosciences for $816m, raised $586m in an initial public offering in Hong Kong in June. Zai Lab, which launched in 2013 and specialises in cancer drugs, raised $172m in a Nasdaq IPO in October.

據麥肯錫，中國的生物科技公司在過去一年從上市中籌得了28億美元。今年6月在香港上市的藥明生物(WuXi Biologics)首次公開發行(IPO)籌得了5.86億美元，8月份該公司又以8.16億美元的價格將一項與另一家中國集團共同研發的藥物的權益出售給美國企業Arcus Biosciences。2013年成立的再鼎醫藥(Zai Lab)專門從事抗癌藥物研發，該公司10月份在納斯達克的IPO中融資1.72億美元。

Alongside Chinese pharma’s global push, the domestic market offers huge potential for sales as the burden of chronic disease in China grows — 4.3m cancer cases are diagnosed each year and the number is expected to rise. Investors have put record sums of money into China’s biotech start-ups amounting to $3bn in the first half of 2017, according to ChinaBio, a consultancy.

除了中國藥企的全球化擴展，國內市場也爲銷售提供了巨大的潛力，因爲中國人的慢性病負擔在加重——每年新增430萬癌症確診病例，而且這個數字預計還會升高。諮詢公司ChinaBio稱，在2017年的上半年，投資者投給中國生物科技創業企業的總資金達到創紀錄的30億美元。

Venture capital and private equity funds focused on China life sciences are on track to close $30bn in funding this year, adds ChinaBio, including foreign investors such as Fidelity International, which launched a $250m China healthcare fund in September.

ChinaBio補充道，包括富達國際(Fidelity International)等境外投資機構在內，今年專注於中國生命科學領域的風險資本和私人股本基金將完成300億美元的融資。富達國際於9月份發起了一個規模達2.5億美元的中國醫療基金。

“More and more venture capitalists are willing to invest in the [Chinese] biotech industry. We have so many local funds wanting to invest in innovative companies,” says Jinzi Wu, chief executive of cancer and hepatitis drug developer Ascletis, which raised $100m this year from investors including US bank Goldman Sachs.

“越來越多的風險投資家願意投資（中國）生物科技行業。我們擁有這麼多的本地基金希望投資於創新型企業，”癌症與肝炎藥物開發商歌禮生物(Ascletis)的首席執行官吳勁梓說。今年，歌禮生物向包括高盛(Goldman Sachs)在內的投資者融入了1億美元資金。

Investment has been encouraged by Beijing’s sweeping reforms of its drug approval process since 2015, which have cut approval times for clinical trials to 22 months from 37 in 2014, with 110 such approvals made this year, according to McKinsey.

自2015年北京方面對藥物審批程序實施全面改革以來，投資受到了鼓勵。麥肯錫表示，改革結果是進入臨牀試驗的審批週期從2014年的37個月縮短至22個月，今年獲批進入試驗的藥物爲110種。

“Speeding up the process to shorten the timeframe to be more or less close to the US is very important for innovation, because timing is everything,” says Wu Chengbin, founder of Epimab, an oncology-focused start-up which raised $25m in a funding round this year.

“加快審批流程、把時間框架或多或少縮短至接近美國的水平，對於創新而言非常重要，因爲時間就是一切，”專攻抗腫瘤藥物的創業企業岸邁生物(Epimab)的創始人吳辰冰說。岸邁生物今年完成了一輪2500萬美元的融資。

Analysts say that partnerships with western drugmakers such as the BeiGgene and Celgene tie-up are not based purely on the promise of a Chinese company’s drug. “Celgene is not a leading multinational like Pfizer?.?.?.?and this deal can help it expand its business in China,” says John Lin, a partner at consultancy Roland Berger.

分析人士表示，與BeiGgene和Celgene等西方藥企達成的合作關係，並非單純基於一家中國公司的藥物的前景。“Celgene並非輝瑞(Pfizer)那樣的頂級跨國企業……這一交易可以幫它擴展在華業務，”諮詢公司羅蘭貝格(Roland Berger)的合夥人林江翰說。

Most Chinese biotechs remain focused on serving the rapidly growing Chinese-market with “me-too” variations of existing drugs, limiting their global potential.

中國大多數生物科技企業仍主要專注於以現有藥物的“仿製”版本滿足快速增長的本土市場，這限制了它們的全球擴展潛力。

For instance, Zai Labs’ most promising drugs are mainly molecules bought from multinationals to be developed for use in China. As a result, some investors are wary of inflated valuations.

例如，再鼎醫藥(Zai Labs)的最具前景的藥物主要是從跨國企業購買、然後在中國開發使用的分子。所以，有些投資者對過高估值非常警惕。

“Most of the innovative drugs being developed in China are in the me-too category,” says Lin Liang, of Eli Lilly’s Asian venture capital arm, which has poured nearly $500m into mostly Chinese start-ups since 2008.

“大多數在中國開發的藥物屬於仿製藥，”禮來(Eli Lilly)旗下亞洲風險資本部門的林亮說。自2008年以來，該部門已向主要由中國資本控股的創業企業注資近5億美元。

“The valuations for innovative pharma companies in China are much higher than before, which is a concern.”

 “如今，中國創新型醫藥企業的估值比以往高得多，這一點值得關注。”