投資者押注中國藥企
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(fā)行(IPO)以及與海外制藥公司的許可交易中募集約100億美元，這部分是因為確信中國研發(fā)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(jù)中國藥品協(xié)會統(tǒng)計，中國在全球藥物創(chuàng)新中的貢獻約占4%，美國為50%。而據(jù)市場研究組織EvaluatePharma估計，去年全球藥物研發(fā)的投入為1570億美元，中國在其中的份額也為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.
但隨著科學家紛紛從海外回國創(chuàng)辦公司，以及國內企業(yè)加大對研發(fā)的投入，這一份額也將提高。據(jù)咨詢機構麥肯錫(McKinsey)，目前中國正在研發(fā)的新藥大約有800種——2012年為240種——其中約80%處于臨床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(chuàng)新藥大多為“仿制”藥，它們與現(xiàn)有藥品類似，且針對國內市場。中國的藥品市場已憑借每年1170億美元的銷售額成為僅次于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(chuàng)企業(yè)正尋求研發(fā)創(chuàng)新藥，有四分之一的臨床試驗正在國外進行，突出了中國企業(yè)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.
但中國制藥商在美國完成的大部分藥物試驗都是早期階段的，這意味著離產品上市還需要幾年的時間。根據(jù)咨詢公司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)——目前正在準備臨床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制藥商新基(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(fā)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.
百濟神州成立于2010年，目前正在進行兩種抗癌藥物的試驗，隨著放眼國際市場，該公司還在美國和澳大利亞進行一項針對貧血癥治療的試驗。
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(zhí)行官馬克•奧爾斯(Mark Alles)對中國新藥研發(fā)的前景表示樂觀。他說：“真正的創(chuàng)新正在中國發(fā)生，跨國公司必須放下成見去思考要去哪里，以及創(chuàng)新正在哪里發(fā)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(yī)藥科技(Hutchison China MediTech，簡稱：和黃醫(yī)藥)今年的市值也增長了一倍，此前其癌癥治療藥物Savolitinib在阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)的主持下取得進展，同時其用于治療腸癌的藥物呋喹替尼(Fruquintinib)在中國也進入了臨床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(jù)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(fā)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(fā)的藥物的權益出售給美國企業(yè)Arcus Biosciences。2013年成立的再鼎醫(yī)藥(Zai Lab)專門從事抗癌藥物研發(fā)，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，國內市場也為銷售提供了巨大的潛力，因為中國人的慢性病負擔在加重——每年新增430萬癌癥確診病例，而且這個數(shù)字預計還會升高。咨詢公司ChinaBio稱，在2017年的上半年，投資者投給中國生物科技創(chuàng)業(yè)企業(yè)的總資金達到創(chuàng)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，今年專注于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。富達國際于9月份發(fā)起了一個規(guī)模達2.5億美元的中國醫(yī)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愿意投資(中國)生物科技行業(yè)。我們擁有這么多的本地基金希望投資于創(chuàng)新型企業(yè)，”癌癥與肝炎藥物開發(fā)商歌禮生物(Ascletis)的首席執(zhí)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，改革結果是進入臨床試驗的審批周期從2014年的37個月縮短至22個月，今年獲批進入試驗的藥物為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，對于創(chuàng)新而言非常重要，因為時間就是一切，”專攻抗腫瘤藥物的創(chuàng)業(yè)企業(yè)岸邁生物(Epimab)的創(chuàng)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系，并非單純基于一家中國公司的藥物的前景。“Celgene并非輝瑞(Pfizer)那樣的頂級跨國企業(yè)……這一交易可以幫它擴展在華業(yè)務，”咨詢公司羅蘭貝格(Roland Berger)的合伙人林江翰說。
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(shù)生物科技企業(yè)仍主要專注于以現(xiàn)有藥物的“仿制”版本滿足快速增長的本土市場，這限制了它們的全球擴展?jié)摿Α?/p>
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(yī)藥(Zai Labs)的最具前景的藥物主要是從跨國企業(yè)購買、然后在中國開發(fā)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(shù)在中國開發(fā)的藥物屬于仿制藥，”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(chuàng)業(yè)企業(yè)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(chuàng)新型醫(yī)藥企業(yè)的估值比以往高得多，這一點值得關注。”
Additional reporting by Sherry Ju in Beijing
俱菲(Sherry Ju)北京補充報道
