2019 was the year that China approved the first new drug for Alzheimer's in nearly two decades and for the first US approval of an original cancer drug from China. While the simmering US trade war has been addressed by a phase one agreement to be signed, other uncertainties marked a year dominated by a large vaccine scandal and resulting bankruptcy, and increasing calls to include China in global clinical development plans.

The music is ending and the party may be over; Chinese biotech investment could soon face heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration.

China's latest proposed rules governing the overseas transfer of personal data may allow pharma, biotech and digital health companies to avoid regulatory security reviews and formal standard contracts, as well as personal information protection certification, but key definitions of “important data” and “negative list” items remain to be clarified.