The Zhitong Finance App learned that on August 12, 2026, China Biotechnology Service Holdings Co., Ltd. (08037) and Japan's Stella Pharma (TSE: 4888) formally signed a cooperation agreement. Under the agreement, Stella Pharma will grant China Biotech Services exclusive commercialization rights for Steboronine® boron medicine in mainland China, including development licenses, agents and general import agent/distribution rights. As early as May 8, 2025, the company signed an agreement with SP to localize boron drug production and transfer formulation production technology through further licensing cooperation. This cooperation has further consolidated the upstream industrial layout of Chinese biotechnology in this field.
The implementation of this cooperation marks the formal completion of the BNCT (boron neutron capture therapy) system integration for the entire “pharmaceutical-device-medicine” industry chain — the company is no longer just a medical service operator with a BNCT hospital, but is growing into a BNCT industry system integrator covering R&D and production of boron drugs, equipment introduction and maintenance, and clinical treatment services.
The trinity of “pharmaceutical-device-medicine”, the whole industry chain is formed in a closed loop
The layout of China's biotechnology services in the field of BNCT has formed a clear three-tier structure:
Medicine - Boron drug introduction agent and localization. The main cooperation agreement signed between the company and Stella Pharma not only secured the exclusive agency and distribution rights for Steboronine®, but also obtained the transfer of formulation production technology and exclusive manufacturing rights. This means that in the future, the company will have a localized production capacity for boron drugs and upgrade from an “import agent” to a “local intelligent manufacturing”.
Equipment - introduction of equipment and localized production. The company has signed an agreement with Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. to introduce the NeuCure® neutron irradiation system, the only approved BNCT treatment system in the world. The system is based on an accelerator, and the core components include a cyclotron, dose calculation scheme, and related medical equipment. The company is promoting the localized production layout of equipment technology, evolving from “equipment procurement” to “technology absorption+local manufacturing”.
Medical - Direct hospital management and regional alliances. Pengbo (Hainan) Boron Neutron Hospital is the first medical institution in China and the third in the world that can carry out clinical application of BNCT. The introduced BNCT equipment and drugs are currently the only ones officially approved for marketing in the world. Since receiving medical treatment in March 2026, dozens of cases have been treated. Based on this, the company is exploring the expansion model of direct hospital management+regional franchise to promote BNCT treatment services from Hainan to the whole country through brand export, technical licensing and operation management.
The three pillars of the industry build a diversified revenue model
Based on the layout of the entire “pharmaceutical-device-medicine” industry chain, the company's industrial model has formed three clear pillars:
The first pillar: hospital direct management and franchise revenue. The first phase of Pengbo Hainan Boron Zhongzi Hospital has 40 beds and an annual reception capacity of 1500 to 2,500 people. The maximum annual treatment limit for a single device exceeds 2,500 people. Combined with the insurance installment payment support plan, the hospital's operating cash flow is highly deterministic. As the regional franchise model progresses, revenue from brand licensing, technical services, and management output will become new increases.
The second pillar: Boron drug introduction agents and localized sales. Boron medicine is a consumable material that must be consumed in every BNCT treatment — “the device is a printer, and boron medicine is a cartridge”. Equipment is a “one-size-fits-all deal”, and pharmaceuticals are “sustainable consumables.” There are more patients, more treatments, more boron consumption, and drug sales revenue continues to grow. According to QYResearch statistics, China's BNCT boron drug market is expected to reach US$138 million by 2032. Once the company has secured exclusive agents and local production rights, it will directly share the full growth in this market.
The third pillar: introduction of cyclotron technology and localized production. The cyclotron, the core of the BNCT treatment system, is the key component with the most technical barriers in the device. Through in-depth cooperation, the company promotes technology absorption and localized production while introducing equipment. Once local manufacturing is achieved, equipment sales, maintenance services, and consumables will become another sustainable source of profit.
On the eve of the explosion of the BNCT industry, the Chinese market was the core growth
The global BNCT industry is on the eve of commercialization. According to YH Research data, the compound growth rate of the global BNCT market reached 36.3% from 2026 to 2032, and the scale jumped from US$528 million to US$3.39 billion. Currently, BNCT has only been approved for head and neck cancer, meningioma, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other clinical indications are progressing steadily, and each additional category of indications will open up a new round of market growth.
China adds about 4.8 million new cancer patients and 600,000 new cases of head and neck cancer every year. As indications continue to expand, the pool of treatable patients will expand exponentially.
Value Revaluation: From “Hospital Stocks” to “BNCT Industry Chain Leaders”
Currently, the market's position on biotechnology services in China is still limited to “a medical service company with a BNCT hospital.” However, the essence of the company's strategy is to build a “pharmaceutical-device-medicine” integrated system integrator in China's BNCT industry with localization of boron drugs as a starting point, equipment localization as support, and hospital networks as terminals.
Refer to comparable logic — printer giants profit from “cartridges,” and pharmaceutical companies rely on “consumables” to generate continuous cash flow. If China's biotechnology services are valued using the leading industry model of “China's BNCT full industry chain system integrator,” the imaginative space is very different from a simple hospital operating service provider.
Huada Songhe and well-known investor Gong Hongjia have already entered the market — continued support from industry opinion leaders indicates firm confidence in the future development prospects of BNCT. The day the market re-evaluates it may be approaching.