National Medical Products Association; September 1, 2026
China has officially issued its updated Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines (Announcement No. 50), jointly enacted by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the National Health Commission (NHC).
The core driver for this urgent update is that the new regulation officially takes effect on September 1, 2026, making it a mandatory milestone for all upcoming medical research in China.
Marking the first major overhaul in six years, the 2026 framework aligns China’s clinical research standards with global international benchmarks—specifically the ICH E6(R3) guidelines. The reform replaces old administrative red tape with an advanced, risk-proportionate management system focused heavily on data integrity and strict ethical oversight.
This regulatory shift heavily reinforces protections for cancer and rare-disease patients participating in trials, while drastically cutting the time it takes to bring cutting-edge, life-saving medical innovations to the Chinese market.
Read the full coverage on the National Medical Products Association website.
Onco Daily; May 29, 2026
The 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held from May 29 to June 2 in Chicago, showcased major clinical milestones and strategic global collaborations aimed at transforming cancer care worldwide.
Dr. Bob Li, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Medical Affairs, Oncology at AstraZeneca, participated in high-profile global forums during the meeting. Alongside ASCO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Julie Gralow, Dr. Li emphasized the role of global collaboration and real-world data in expanding equitable clinical trial access for diverse patient populations.
International clinical trials led in partnership by Dr. Yi-Long Wu and his team from the Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute showcased breakthrough advancements in targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer, specifically focusing on RET fusions and EGFR mutations.
These presentations underscore the intensifying integration of international research efforts to deliver more precise, targeted interventions for lung cancer patients globally.
To read the full article, visit Onco Daily.
Read an overview of the primary results of the phase 3 LIBRETTO-432 trial on the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Read an overview of the research into Sunvozertinib monotherapy versus platinum-based chemotherapy on the American Society of Clinical Oncology website.
March 18, 2026
The following op-ed was published in Nature on February 12, 2026, and was written by Lizzi C. Lee, Fellow on Chinese Economy at ASPI’s Center for China Analysis (CCA), and Jing Qian, Vice President, Co-Founder, and Managing Director of CCA.
In biomedical science, China still lags behind the United States and Europe when it comes to fundamental research and conducting clinical trials involving investigators and participants from sev-eral countries1. But the nation is now a global leader when it comes to drug development and manufacturing. And it is becoming increasingly important in frontier science.
Industry analysts estimate that China now accounts for 70–95% of the global supply chain for many essential pharmaceutical products, including ibuprofen and paracetamol. In 2024, Chinese biotechnology firms developed more than 1,250 new drugs, surpassing the European Union and approaching the US total of roughly 1,440. In 2018, China conducted only 9% of the clinical trials conducted by companies around the world. Now, it is responsible for about one-fifth of such trials. And in the past few years, it has achieved several therapeutic milestones.
As biotech industry gathers pace, however, so does geopolitical scrutiny.
it was originally republished on the Asia Society Site.
Read the full report here
ASCO 2025 Annual Meeting; May 30-June 3, 2025
At 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, global health leaders gathered under the banner of the Bloomberg New Economy International Cancer Coalition (‘Coalition’) to accelerate progress on one of oncology’s most persistent challenges: equitable access.
With participation from Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, ASCO, the National Cancer Institute, and industry leaders including AstraZeneca, BMS, J&J, and Amgen, the Coalition launched its Rural America Task Force, aimed at designing scalable, cross-sector models to deliver care and clinical trials to underserved communities across the United States.
To read more, visit the Bloomberg New Economy website.
Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis; March 31, 2025
The Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis (CCA) hosts a panel discussion on the progress of Healthy China 2030 and the Chinese government’s long-term healthcare reform plans. The conversation features Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations; Winnie Yip, professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Chang Liu, CCA honorary fellow and CEO of ASK Health China; and Patrick Beyrer, CCA research associate. The panel explores key achievements to date, the obstacles to achieving the 2030 goals, and potential opportunities for international collaboration and innovation in the global healthcare industry. G.A. Donovan, CCA fellow, moderates the discussion.
U.S.-China Cancer Trial Collaboration: Political and Regulatory Challenges and the Path Forward
February 4, 2025
Can the U.S. and China collaborate to fight cancer?
Despite the U.S. and China accounting for nearly 40% of global cancer deaths, meaningful collaboration on cancer clinical trials has failed to take place.
This new report from Patrick Beyrer explores why large-scale cooperation has failed, examining the political tensions, regulatory challenges, and data-sharing obstacles that continue to block progress.
Looking through the lenses of data regulation and political limitations this paper analyzes the current challenges to U.S.-China cooperation on joint regulatory harmonization on cancer, including hospital agreements, data-sharing protocols, and international clinical trials. It concludes by assessing recent progress in areas such as investment, data sharing, and science-centered diplomacy while drawing lessons from historical examples of U.S.-China health cooperation for how to better coordinate each country’s interests.
Read the full report here.
Expanding the US.-Australia Cancer Alliance Toward an Asia Pacific Collaborative Effort to Save Millions of Lives
November 21, 2024
Today (November 21st, 2024), Cure4Cancer and Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis have published the second report in C4C’s series on Advancing Global Health Equity, and it builds on the framework of the international collaboration and regulatory harmonization of clinical cancer trials.
Cancer remains one of the most pressing global health challenges, claiming 10 million lives each year with devastating effects on family members and loved ones, and placing immense strain on healthcare systems across the world. As Nelson Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” This report, Advancing Global Health Equity: Expanding the U.S.-Australia Cancer Alliance Toward an Asia-Pacific Collaborative to Save Millions of Lives, embodies that spirit of perseverance and global cooperation, offering a roadmap toward equitable cancer care through international collaboration.
This report is the second in our series on Advancing Global Health Equity for the Cure4Cancer. It builds on the framework of international collaboration and regulatory harmonization on clinical trials as described in our first report, and uses new Australian initiatives as a case study. The U.S.-Australia partnership, grounded in an innovative concept of the hub-and-spoke network model of clinical trials and access to precision oncology, demonstrates how collaboration may transcend borders to overcome disparities in cancer care and prevention to help patients in diverse communities. This report empha- sizes the power of sharing knowledge, regulatory harmonization, and inclusion of diverse populations to ensure that scientific advances reach all those in need, regardless of geographic, racial-ethnic, or economic barriers.
Drawing from the strength of this partnership, this report calls for the simultaneous expansion of mul- tilateral collaboration across the Asia-Pacific, a region that represents the world’s largest and fastest growing economy, and where cancer care disparities are vast. It is this spirit of collective action and mutual learning that will drive the future through advancing global health equity. We invite policy- makers, healthcare leaders, and researchers across public and private sectors globally to join this vital mission to ensure access to innovative life-saving treatments and prevention are expanded to all com- munities, which would in turn stimulate economic development and accelerate the cure for cancer— eliminating it as a cause of death—for all of humanity.
Download the full report here.
Sept 24, 2024
A study conducted by Bloomberg New Economy International Cancer Coalition, McKinsey Cancer Center, and Cure4Cancer in collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center revealed patient access and participation in oncology clinical trials remain fewer than 5% globally and suggest solutions to lower barriers to access in order to accelerate the ‘cure for cancer’.
Read the full study in American Association for Cancer Research.
Anupriya Singhal, Bob T. Li & Eileen M. O’Reilly
Nature Magazine, April 18, 2024
This piece in Nature Medicine that outlines the strategic thinking and future directions in the KRAS battle. Combination therapies against KRAS are underway, and first-in-human clinical trials of new allele specific molecules are already here, including promising inhibitors of KRAS G12D.
Apart from furthering our advances against lung cancers, we have a comprehensive plan to beat some of the most recalcitrant malignancies.
The full article is behind a paywall at Nature Magazine.
JAMA Network, April 12, 2024
Assessing the current global state of adoption of decentralized trial technologies, understanding factors that may be driving or preventing adoption, and highlighting aspirations and direction for industry to enable more patient-centric trials.
Read the report on JAMA Network
