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Title

Article: Mergers afoot for China’s biotechnology industry as suppliers become attractive targets for Big Pharma

Impact Score

5 / 10

AI Summary (Processed Content)

China's outsourced drug discovery services market is poised for consolidation, driven by strong annual growth of approximately 20% fueled by the biotech boom. These service providers are attractive and resilient investment targets, as they profit from drug development projects regardless of the eventual success of the drugs themselves. The market is forecast to grow significantly, reaching US$4.1 billion by 2024, as drug developers increasingly outsource for cost savings.

This trend is exemplified by Advent International's merger of Shanghai-based Sundia MediTech with its BioDuro unit, creating a top-three preclinical contract research organization in China with over 2,000 employees.

The main topics covered are industry consolidation, market growth, the investment rationale for service providers, and a specific merger example.

Original URL

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3103451/mergers-afoot-chinas-biotechnology-industry-suppliers-become?utm_source=rss_feed

Source Feed

Science & Research - South China Morning Post

Published Date

2020-09-29 04:40

Fetched Date

2026-03-04 14:32

Processed Date

2026-03-04 15:13

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Present

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Not Clustered

Raw Extracted Content

Mergers afoot for China’s biotechnology industry as suppliers become attractive targets for Big Pharma
- Outsourced drug discovery services providers stand to benefit from industry boom, regardless of whether drug development efforts succeed or not
- Industry is benefiting from abundant funding from private equity firms and stock market offerings, Advent International says
China’s fragmented outsourced drug discovery services market will see further consolidation as companies seek to grab market share amid a biotechnology boom.
“The industry is growing at around 20 per cent a year in the last few years, benefiting from the biotech boom,” Andrew Li, head of Greater China, said in an interview. Such outsourced providers stand to benefit from their position in the value chain, regardless of whether drug development efforts come to fruition or not, he added.
The preclinical outsourced drug discovery services market in mainland China is forecast to grow at a compound average annual rate of 18.2 per cent to US$4.1 billion (HK$31.8 billion) in 2024 from US$1.8 billion last year, according to market research firm Frost & Sullivan. Drug developers are increasingly using outsourcing partners to help them conduct preclinical laboratory tests and clinical trials to take advantage of cost savings, especially China, Li added.
Advent, which focuses on five broad sectors including health care, last week took control of Shanghai-based Sundia MediTech, and plans to merge it with its San Diego-based BioDuro. No financial detail was disclosed. Both companies have been in business for the past 15 years and most of their research operations are located in China serving global clients, mainly in the United States, Europe and increasingly Asia-Pacific.
The combined entity BioDuro-Sundia has over 2,000 employees, making it the third largest player among China’s contract drugs research organisations focusing on preclinical work, according to Li.