EQRx has raised at least $750m since it launched in January 2020 and will have $2bn to fund its ongoing development of low-cost drugs after merging with a special purpose acquisition corporation.

China's top regulator grants approvals to a record number of novel drugs, including multiple oncology products from domestic companies, which are increasingly shifting to innovation, supported by positive regulatory changes over the past few years. 

EQRx is one of several Western companies that have been looking to China for new PD-1 inhibitors at a lower cost.

Chinese domestic firms have gained a flurry of novel drug approvals at home, including the first globally for an anti-PD-1 antibody for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.