David Chen, Founder & Managing Director, BFC Group

Following the speech, Henry He from Fangda Partners delivered a speech titled “Navigating Challenges in Quickly Shifting Landscapes: Strategic Partnering and Cross-Border Transactions in Life Sciences.” Speaking from a legal expert’s perspective, he offered a thorough analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries in forming strategic partnerships and conducting cross-border transactions amid a rapidly evolving landscape. His insights provided participating companies with highly practical compliance guidance and strategic collaboration frameworks.

Henry He, Partner, Fangda Partners

The first panel discussion of the conference, titled “Biopharma Investment Landscape: What’s Driving Deals in 2025 and Beyond”, brought together speakers who examined the deal-making landscape from the perspective of global pharmaceutical companies. Panelists explored the underlying drivers of the active transaction environment and strategic priorities shaping partnerships nowadays. Discussions highlighted the impact of emerging technology platforms, therapeutic differentiation, and valuation trends on deal activity. The panel also shed light on what MNCs look for in an ideal partner, offering valuable insights into how early- and mid-stage biotechs can align with the evolving expectations of global players.

From left to right: Michael Tung, MD, Chief Financial Officer, vTv Therapeutics; Grace Han McMahon, Associate Vice President and Head, Pacific Business Development & Licensing, MSD; Tomohiro Yamauchi, Executive Director, Global Head of Scouting & Transaction Oncology, Astellas; Venkatesan Raghavan, Executive Director Search & Evaluation-Oncology, Novartis; Johan Verbeeck, Vice President Business Development, Oncology, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine; Toby Freyman, Vice President, Business Development, Alexion Pharmaceuticals

The second panel discussion, titled “Maximizing Global Value from Asia's Early-Stage Biotech Innovation”, focused on strategic approaches to unlocking the global potential of early-stage biotech innovation emerging from Asia. Panelists shared their firsthand experiences to examine the current landscape and growing competitiveness of Asian biotech startups. The discussion explored how global pharmaceutical companies can amplify the impact of these innovators through strategic collaborations and capital investment, while also addressing the key challenges and opportunities in areas such as novel technology.

From left to right: Mitchell Zhang, Vice President, BFC Group; Dan Zheng, Head of Regional innovation and Partnerships, Center for External innovation, Takeda; Christopher Hupp, Senior Director, External Innovation, Chemistry, lpsen; Harish Soundararajan, Vice President, Roivant Sciences; Tess Cameron, Principal, RA Capital; Maha Radhakrishnan, Executive Partner, Sofinnova Investments

The final panel discussion, “The Rise of Asian Biotech: Why Global Pharma is Betting Big?”, explored why multinational pharmaceutical companies are increasingly prioritizing investments in Asian biotechs. The panelists unanimously acknowledged the rapid progress of new drug development in Asia, which is enabling biotech companies to inject fresh innovation into the global pharmaceutical industry. They also discussed the key driving factors behind this shift. With the support of global capital, emerging companies in Asia are steadily overcoming challenges related to R&D, clinical trials, and market access. Meanwhile, global pharmaceutical giants are leveraging their collaborations with these biotechs to enrich their product pipelines and tap into emerging markets, thus creating a win-win partnership.

From left to right: Yuan Mi, Founder/COO, CytosinLab Therapeutics; Josh Shin, Partner, Fangda Partners; Cynthia Wang, Director, Global Business Development, Asia-Pacific Region, Servier; Adrianne L. Wong, Director, Oncology Search & Evaluation of Global Business Development, Daiichi Sankyo; René Fuertig, Global Head of Neuroscience & Mental Health BD+L, Boehringer Ingelheim; Guoxin Zhu, Vice President, Molecule Discovery, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company

The 2025 BFC Global Healthcare Summer BD & Investment Conference successfully concluded with two keynote speeches and three expert panel discussions. The event attracted many attendees, who engaged in vibrant exchanges of ideas in an environment that emphasized collaboration and innovation to advance the healthcare industry. BFC Group will continue to dedicate itself to providing a platform for cooperation and innovation between biopharma companies, as well as facilitating communication between businesses and investors. We look forward to reconnecting in 2026!