The first “Chen Yuqing’s answer sheet” is released: Fosun Pharma’s net profit grew by 21.69%—have innovative drugs taken on the heavy lifting?

(Source: Arteria New Medicine)

Chen Yuqing’s first annual report after taking office as Chairman of Fosun Pharma has been released.

On March 24, Fosun Pharma announced its 2025 financial report, achieving total revenue of 41.66B yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.45%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 3.37B yuan, a rise of 21.69%.

The growth rate of net profit attributable to shareholders far exceeded the revenue growth, but the growth rate of non-recurring net profit was 1.12%, roughly in line with revenue growth. This indicates that non-recurring gains and losses significantly contributed to current net profit—2025 non-recurring gains and losses reached 1.03 billion yuan, a 125.8% increase from 456 million yuan in 2024. Among them, gains and losses from the disposal of non-current assets (including asset impairment write-downs) totaled 1.06B yuan, representing the main source of incremental growth.

In other words, a high portion of profit growth comes from asset sale gains, not entirely from endogenous growth of core business.

Fosun Pharma Chairman Chen Yuqing believes that in 2025, Fosun Pharma firmly implemented the strategy of “innovation-led, deep internationalization, and full embrace of AI,” with innovative drugs and globalization serving as dual engines driving high-quality performance growth. So, have innovative drugs taken on the main responsibility for performance? What achievements have been made in globalization?

Innovative drug revenue accounts for 33.16% of the pharmaceutical business

In 2025, Fosun Pharma’s innovative drug revenue reached 9.89B yuan, a significant increase of 29.59% year-on-year, accounting for 33.16% of the pharmaceutical business revenue, up from 26.39% in 2024.

Intensive R&D investment is also translating into tangible pipeline results.

In 2025, the company’s total R&D expenditure reached 5.91B yuan, with over 80% allocated to innovative drugs. R&D investment related to innovative drugs amounted to 4.3B yuan, a 15.98% increase year-on-year, accounting for 80.26% of the pharmaceutical R&D expenditure.

During the reporting period, 7 innovative drugs with 16 indications were approved for listing domestically and internationally; 6 innovative drug applications for listing were accepted; nearly 40 innovative drug clinical trials received approval from regulatory agencies in China, the US, and Europe; and multiple core products entered critical clinical stages.

Among these, the oncology and immunomodulation fields performed particularly well, with revenue growth exceeding 20%. Products like Hanshuang (Srlulirumab) and Yikai Da (Acalabrutinib injection) saw volume increases in the domestic market.

The CAR-T product Yikai Da (Acalabrutinib injection) was included in the first edition of the commercial insurance innovative drug catalog, covering over 210 treatment centers nationwide. Yikai Da’s sales in 2025 rose to the 12.98B to 1 billion yuan range, with CAR-T products entering an accelerated volume-up phase.

Especially notable is the licensing deal with Pfizer for the oral GLP-1 drug YP05002, with an upfront payment of $150 million directly recognized as current profit and loss, demonstrating real financial returns.

Looking at specific products, four single products or series with sales exceeding 1 billion yuan in 2025 include Hanshuang, Hantouyou, Hanlikang, and heparin series preparations.

So, have innovative drugs fully taken on Fosun Pharma’s “main pillar”?

From an absolute value perspective, although innovative drug revenue accounts for over one-third, nearly two-thirds of pharmaceutical revenue still depends on mature products, generics, and non-innovative businesses. Under the normalized centralized procurement environment, price pressure on mature products is an inevitable trend.

Fosun Pharma disclosed that by the end of the reporting period, a total of 48 products that have passed or are deemed to have passed consistency evaluation for generics had been selected in eleven rounds of national drug centralized procurement and insulin special procurement tenders, including the results of the 11th batch of centralized procurement initiated during the period, which will be implemented from February 2026.

For stock varieties included in procurement, Fosun Pharma leverages multi-channel marketing and lean production advantages, replacing volume with price while strengthening lifecycle management of procurement products.

Undoubtedly, innovative drugs are the growth engine, but future growth scale still depends on market outcomes.

Taking the Alzheimer’s disease track as an example, on December 15, 2025, Fosun Pharma announced it would acquire Greevalley (Shanghai) Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Greevalley Pharma”) for over 1.4 billion yuan, with its core target being the controversial domestic Alzheimer’s drug “Jiuyiqi” (Gantenerumab sodium capsule).

In November 2019, the National Medical Products Administration conditionally approved Gantenerumab sodium capsules as a Class 1 new drug for treating mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, aiming to improve patients’ cognitive function. In 2021, the drug was first included in the national medical insurance catalog. In 2025, due to Greevalley Pharma’s failure to complete confirmatory clinical trials post-marketing, the NMPA did not re-approve the drug’s listing application, and production was halted.

According to Fosun Pharma executives’ statements during a conference call, based on existing clinical evidence, they remain optimistic about the efficacy and prospects of Jiuyiqi.

Fosun Pharma also responded that they are evaluating the feasibility of ongoing confirmatory clinical trial plans for Gantenerumab sodium capsules and have participated in discussions with Greevalley Pharma and the NMPA’s Center for Drug Evaluation regarding protocol revisions. Combining the latest domestic and international clinical guidance and regulatory feedback, they have further revised the clinical trial plan. Based on the revised plan, it is estimated that all subjects can be enrolled by the end of 2027, relevant studies completed and data read out by early 2029, and a clinical trial summary report submitted to the NMPA in the first half of 2029.

Ultimately, the specific follow-up depends on approval results.

Overseas revenue reaches 12.98B yuan

Apart from innovative drugs, globalization is another frequently mentioned term in Fosun Pharma’s 2025 financial report.

In 2025, Fosun Pharma’s overseas revenue reached 12.977 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.87%, with the proportion of total revenue rising to 31.15%. Especially considering that domestic revenue declined by 3.64% year-on-year, this figure is quite impressive. During this year, Fosun Pharma licensed or authorized a total of 6 overseas products.

In terms of registration capability, Fosun Pharma has formed a global R&D and production collaboration system led by “Europe and America breakthroughs, deep cultivation in emerging markets.” The core product, Srlulirumab injection, has been approved in over 40 countries and regions worldwide, becoming the first anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody approved in the EU for first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. The bridging trial in the US has completed patient enrollment, with plans to submit a BLA to the FDA in 2026.

However, part of the growth in overseas revenue comes from one-time licensing income rather than ongoing product sales. In December 2025, Fosun Pharma reached a global licensing agreement with Pfizer for the GLP-1 drug YP05002, with an upfront payment of $150 million (about 1.08 billion yuan), accounting for a significant portion of the overseas revenue increase that year. Additionally, overseas revenue includes upfront payments from licensing deals with companies like Dr. Reddy’s and Sandoz AG.

Whether overseas revenue can sustain high growth depends on the commercialization and registration progress of already launched products and new product approvals abroad.

Fosun Pharma openly states in its financial report that it is actively promoting generic sales and preparing for the launch of the innovative anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody Srlulirumab in the US, continuously strengthening its commercialization capabilities in the US market.

Looking at other products’ overseas commercialization: Srlulirumab was approved in the EU in February 2025, and by the end of 2025, it had been approved in more than 40 countries and regions.

It’s worth noting that “approval” does not equal “volume.” Currently, Fosun Pharma is strengthening its internationalization capacity.

The financial report reveals that Fosun Pharma, through its subsidiaries GlandPharma and Tridem Pharma, has established marketing teams in India and Africa. Additionally, the group is exploring partnerships in the Middle East and Southeast Asia to jointly build regional commercialization systems, further expanding its presence in emerging markets.

But to see further results, such as increased sales scale and stable cash flow contribution from overseas markets, remains to be observed.