The nod will help unlock a national market for the partners’ Dupert (fulzerasib) in which roughly 50,000 people are expected to be newly diagnosed with lung cancer harboring the KRAS G12C mutation in 2025. Meanwhile, two other homegrown rivals are also closing in on marketing clearances in China.

July was an active month for deals between Chinese biopharma firms, as some looked to build their pipelines and others for partners to help commercialize products moving to market. Two ADCs, a GLP-1R/GIPR fusion protein and an IL-4Rα antibody were among the assets changing hands.

Already approved for lung cancer, BMS’s ROS1/NTKK inhibitor gets US FDA accelerated approval for solid tumors that are NTRK-fusion positive.

China's Zai Lab and Everest are still pursuing profitability on the commercialization of in-licensed assets, while BioNova and others have already bowed out of the game.