The antibody-drug conjugate market is emerging as the next battleground for intense competition in China, with global partnerships becoming essential to win, as evidenced by a major new alliance between Innovent and Sanofi.

As the Communist Party of China gears up for its once in every five years National Congress late this fall, the need for more novel drugs to help address the persistent coronavirus pandemic is rising amid the country’s strict “COVID Zero” policies.

The latest drug development news and highlights from the Pink Sheet’s US FDA Performance Tracker

An inability to conduct manufacturing field inspections in China due to strict local COVID-19 policies is cited as the only reason for the delay for the anti-PD-1 drug, for which the timescale for resolution is currently unclear.