Chinese immune checkpoint inhibitors can shake the US markets

The recent deal between Coherus BioSciences (Nasdaq: CHRS) and Shanghai Junshi Biosciences (HKEX: 1877) for Junshi’s PD-1 inhibitor named Tuoyi (toripalimab) is the fifth such deal between the US or European Union companies and Chinese PD-1/L1 developers.

With six checkpoint inhibitors originally developed in China and now partnered with the US/EU companies vying for approval in the US, this could lead to aggressive discounted prices and competitive pressure on the established checkpoint inhibitors, shaking up the US market in coming years, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Jessica McCormack, oncology and hematology analyst at GlobalData, comments: “When Chinese PD-1 inhibitors Tuoyi and Tyvyt (sintilimab) (from Innovent/Eli Lilly), launched in China they did so at considerably lower price points than rival PD-1 inhibitors, Keytruda and Opdivo. A similar cut in pricing in the US market could see new entries from China really starting to compete with the big names. Looking ahead, this strategy could be even more successful in more cost-conscious countries."