China Dominates Big Licensing Deals as M&A Starts 2026 With a Bang

China dominates big licensing deals as M&A starts 2026 with a bang by John Carroll on April 15th, 2026 The start of 2026 has shaped up as an extension of the solid performance we tracked with DealForma’s Chris Dokomajilar through the second half of last year. Dealmaking continued apace, venture capital is recovering, and Asia stayed out front as the leading region for licensing pacts. Chinese biotechs, which seized the spotlight on deals last year, started out 2026 hotter than ever. Pharma companies eager to expand their pipelines have taken advantage of China’s drug labs, which have been quick to follow R&D trends. VCs, meanwhile, regrouped around later-stage assets, chasing the windfall returns that shape R&D in many respects. And IPOs are making a new run at the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, with mixed results. The overall number of new deals in biopharma during Q1 cooled a bit after a sizzling end to 2025, but bigger payouts are keeping M&A hot with a solid start of the year for licensing pacts.

China is leading large biopharma licensing deals in early 2026, with strong M&A activity and continued momentum highlighted by DealForma data showing sustained dealmaking and bigger payouts despite a slight dip in deal volume. Read it here

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