The oncology drug market size has continued to increase in recent years, and the oncology drugs have been a field that pharmaceutical enterprises are unwilling to let go. However, for China where the modern drug R&D started relatively late, the new drug R&D, especially the development of the Class 1 oncology drugs, was once a vulnerability of the Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises. In the decade from 2000 to 2010 when foreign pharmaceutical enterprises were rapidly developing new oncology drugs, Chinese enterprises failed to successfully develop even a Class 1 oncology drug that was approved for marketing. However, the R&D strength of China has grown in recent years thanks to China’s national strategy and other factors: it has successively approved the marketing of 7 Class 1 oncology drugs since 2011, getting rid of the previous embarrassment of no Class 1 new drug in the oncology field in a decade.

Table I. Class 1 Oncology Drugs Approved in China in Recent Years
|
Drug name |
Trade name |
Developed by |
Target |
Indication |
Marketing time |
|
Iodine[131i] metuximab |
Licartin |
Chengdu Huasun Biotechnology |
HAb18G/CD147 |
Hepatocellular carcinoma |
May 2011 |
|
Icotinib hydrochloride |
Conmana |
Zhejiang Betta |
EGFR |
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) |
June 2011 |
|
Nimotuzumab |
Taixinsheng |
Biotech Pharma |
EGFR |
Head and neck cancer |
December 2012 |
|
Apatinib mesylate |
Aitan |
Jiangsu Hengrui |
VEGFR 2 |
Metastatic gastric carcinoma |
October 2014 |
|
Chidamide |
Epidaza |
Chipscreen |
HDAC |
Peripheral T-cell lymphoma |
December 2014 |
|
Recombinant Human Adenovirus Type 5 Injection |
Oncorine |
Shanghai Sunway Biotech Co., Ltd. |
P53 |
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma |
November 2015 |
|
Recombinant human endostatin |
Endostar |
Yantai Medgenn |
...
Read More
Related News
Made-in-China New Drugs: The Game and Breakthrough in the Over - 4 - Billion Market
Lezhi September 5, 2025
Sartorius and EMBL join forces to offer advanced training and science education
cphi-online February 22, 2017
Takeda completes acquisition of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals
biospectrumasia February 22, 2017 You may like
China New Chemical Substance Notification (China Reach)
An Echinacea extract Echinacea Echinacea purpurea Echinacea pallida enzymatic echinacea purpurea ext
China Cheap Price 50L -80℃ Air Cooled Industrial Water Standing Chiller Machine Manufacturer
Chlorpromazine hydrochloride made in China
Echinacea Extract Chicoric acid Echinacoside
Get alerted on the PharmaSources E-Newsletter and Pharma Sources Insight E-Compilation! Subscribe
Note: You can unsubscribe from the alerts at any time. Get alerted on the PharmaSources E-Newsletter and Pharma Sources Insight E-Compilation! Subscribe
Note: You can unsubscribe from the alerts at any time. Most popular
The Rise of Biosimilars: Regulatory Pathways and Market Outlook
Nurah Ekhlaque
Sep 19, 2025
Methodology Validation in Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2025: How to Report Accuracy and Precision
Xing Xing
Sep 12, 2025
Digitalization in Procurement: From AI Forecasting to Blockchain Traceability
Saher Haider
Sep 19, 2025
|










(All Rights Reserved)