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It’s not just AI. China’s medicine is surprising the world, too
Its firms are at the forefront of cheaper, faster drug discovery
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China has become the second-largest developer of new drugs, behind only America.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY
The Economist
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Keytruda, a cancer-immunotherapy medicine, ranks among the most lucrative drugs ever sold. Since its launch in 2014 it has raked in more than US$130 billion (S$174 billion) in sales for Merck, its American maker, including US$29.5 billion in 2024. In September, an experimental drug did what none had done before. In late-stage trials for non-small-cell lung cancer, it nearly doubled the time patients lived without the disease worsening – to 11.1 months, compared with 5.8 months for Keytruda.
The results were stunning. So too was the nationality of the company behind them. Akeso, a biotech firm, is Chinese.
