The Zhitong Finance App learned that the globalization of innovative drugs is changing from a narrative that has been told for many years to figures that can be checked on profit statements. On October 27, Fosun Pharmaceutical, a core subsidiary of Fosun International (00656) health sector, announced results for the first three quarters of 2026: operating income of 30.463 billion yuan, up 3.64% year on year; net profit to mother of 2,667 billion yuan, up 5.71% year on year; net profit without return to mother of 1,706 billion yuan, up 8.42% year on year. Profits are faster than revenue, deducted faster than return to mother. The core driving force is “continuous growth in revenue from innovative drugs and steady improvement in operating efficiency.”
It is worth noting that under a constant exchange rate, revenue for the first three quarters increased 5.81% year-on-year, higher than the 3.64% of the report's caliber. The difference between the two numbers comes from exchange rate conversion and has nothing to do with operations. It reveals one thing from the side — overseas business already accounts for a share of Fosun Pharmaceuticals' revenue table enough to disrupt the presentation of the consolidated statements.
The changes are mainly due to the continued evolution of the globalization of innovative medicines. In the first three quarters, revenue from innovative drugs increased 15.54% year on year, accounting for 35.43% of pharmaceutical business revenue, up 3.11 percentage points from the same period last year; overseas business revenue increased 11.62% year on year, accounting for 30.96% of revenue, up 2.21 percentage points from the same period last year.
What can better measure progress is the entry of innovative drugs into the global market. In the first three quarters, Fosun Pharmaceutical approved a total of 8 innovative drugs and 22 indications for marketing. Among them, the H drug Hans has added perioperative indications for gastric cancer in China, filling a global clinical gap; three additional first-line treatment of squamous non-small cell lung cancer, esophageal squamous squamous cell lung cancer, and non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer have been approved in the European Union. Fumainine (ruvometinib tablets) has been approved for new indications, making it the world's first targeted drug to cover Langerhans cell histiocytosis and neurofibromatosis type I in children and adults at the same time.
At the same time, the entitlement arrangement for innovative drugs is also being extended globally. AR1001, an innovative drug for Alzheimer's disease introduced in the subregion and has exclusive rights of choice in the global core market, has completed the last visit of the last international multi-center phase III clinical patient. The top-line data is expected to be announced on the first day of the CTAD Conference (Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trial Conference) on November 16.
The innovation pipeline is supported by continued increased investment. In the first three quarters, Fosun Pharmaceutical invested a total of 5.247 billion yuan in R&D, an increase of 31.24% over the previous year, of which 4.346 billion yuan was invested in innovative drug research and development, an increase of 55.07% over the previous year.
Chen Qiyu, Co-CEO of Fosun International, presented a set of industry data in a public speech on October 20: The total amount of foreign authorized transactions of China's innovative drugs in 2025 is about 136 billion US dollars, and in the first half of 2026 alone, it has surpassed 100 billion US dollars; clinical research and development assets from China account for about one-third of the world. “Respond to global competition with China's innovation efficiency; support continuous innovation with global market value. This will be an important path for Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies to go global.” Chen Qiyu said.
For Fosun International, this path is a concrete demonstration of its “China's ability to graft global resources” strategy in the field of innovative pharmaceuticals. As the scope of approval of innovative drugs extends from China to the European Union, the United States, and a wider range of emerging markets, “globalization” will continue to increase the financial content of financial statements.