Following in the steps of Merck & Co. and GSK, Pfizer is turning to a Chinese partner to more broadly market one of its top vaccines in the country - but the US firm is going one step further.

Top-line results for two newly approved COVID-19 antivirals in China showed roughly 1.5- to two-day cuts in median time to symptom resolution or recovery in mild-to-moderate Omicron patients versus placebo.

Shanghai’s biopharma sector has started to regain momentum and is beginning to see its innovation bets paying off, with support from the local government.

While China’s increasingly inward-looking macro economic policies and other regulatory hurdles are likely to impact smaller players, positive biopharma policy moves in competing hub contenders including Shanghai and the Greater Bay Area also offer attractive opportunities.