Opinion: STAT+: The U.S.-China biotech crackdown may hurt the scientists America needs the most
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- China accounts for 34% of roughly 14,088 new drugs in global clinical development, surpassing the United States' 27%, according to data cited by Pharmcube.
- China contributes 40% of new drugs entering clinical stage each year, per Pharmcube data referenced in the piece.
- China's out-licensing deals rose nearly tenfold from 2021 to 2025, reaching a record $137.7 billion, according to Pharmcube.
- The FDA opened its inaugural overseas office in China in 2007, the starting point of the author's nearly two-decade tenure covering biotech in Washington and Beijing.
- Concerns persist about stolen intellectual property and the role of Chinese state-run companies in the biotech sector, per the author.
- The author, a former Washington and Beijing biotech correspondent, says current US-China biotech discourse concerns them more than at any prior point in their career.
Why it matters: China now leads the US in clinical-stage drug development at 34% vs 27%, with out-licensing deals hitting a record $137.7 billion — meaning any crackdown that alienates Chinese-trained scientists or cross-border collaborations could directly weaken the US pharmaceutical pipeline it was designed to protect.
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