China's rapid drug development fuels split among U.S. biotech firms

Damian Garde spoke with more than a dozen investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders about how China's growing role is reshaping U.S. biotech strategy.

American companies have poured roughly $60 billion into Chinese-origin molecules in the first quarter of 2026, a rate that could double the previous year's spend and is ten times the 2021 level.

Those figures underline a growing tension: some see Chinese partnerships as a source of fast, inexpensive drug candidates, while others view them as competitive threats, a divide that is straining relationships across the sector.