China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and clinical wins drive Hong Kong biotech stocks surge over 10%
On September 21, 2026, Hong Kong-listed innovative drug stocks surged, with Henlius rising over 10%, driven by China’s ten-ministry “15th Five-Year Plan” targeting 20% annual growth for innovative drugs by 2030, positive Phase III data from Chinese firms at the 2026 WCLC, and NMPA approval of a new brain-computer interface standard. The Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF rose over 5%.
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Multiple Catalysts Boost Hong Kong Biotech Stocks; Henlius Rises Over 10% Intraday
Hong Kong-listed innovative drug stocks rallied on September 21, driven by multiple catalysts. Junshi Biosciences rose 10.23%, Henlius gained 9.88%, and other biotech firms also saw significant gains. The surge followed the release of the '15th Five-Year Plan for Pharmaceutical Industry Development' by ten Chinese government departments, which sets targets including an average annual growth rate of no less than 20% for the innovative drug industry by 2030, first-in-class drugs accounting for at least 25% globally, and average R&D intensity of listed pharmaceutical companies exceeding 10%. Additionally, China's National Medical Products Administration approved the country's third brain-computer interface medical device standard, the world's first to use AI for processing EEG data. At the 2026 World Lung Cancer Conference, Chinese innovative drugs including Akeso's ivonescimab and Hansoh Pharma's HS-20093 presented positive Phase III endpoint data. Henlius led gains after its biosimilar adalimumab received marketing approval from the Pakistani drug regulator, and the company was officially included in the Stock Connect program effective September 7, 2026.
Read sourceChina's 15th Five-Year Plan Boosts Innovative Drugs; Hong Kong Biotech ETF Surges Over 5%
On September 21, Hong Kong stock markets rallied, with the CSI Hong Kong Innovative Drug Index rising over 5%. The move followed the release of the '15th Five-Year Plan for the Pharmaceutical Industry' by ten Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The plan calls for accelerating the application of AI, quantum computing, and other new technologies in drug R&D, and exploring new production models such as space-based pharmaceuticals. Separately, China's National Medical Products Administration pledged continued support for innovative drugs and devices during the plan period. Multiple AI drug discovery collaborations were announced, including partnerships between Novo Nordisk and Anthropic, and between Lilly's TuneLab and金斯瑞 (GenScript) and Twist. ByteDance-incubated AI drug platform Anew Labs raised $290 million in its first external funding round. Changcheng Guorui Securities advised focusing on platform-based drug companies with differentiated clinical value and overseas commercialization potential. The article also noted that the Hong Kong Innovative Drug Index trades at a PE-TTM of about 34x, near a 5-year historical low of 29%, and that a profit inflection point may have been reached based on strong first-half 2026 revenue growth among listed biotech firms.
Read sourceHong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF Index Surges Over 5% on Policy and Industry Catalysts
On September 21, 2026, the Guozheng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug Index, tracked by the Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF Peng Hua (159286), surged 5.23% by 10:08 AM. The rally was driven by dual catalysts: policy support and industry progress. On September 20, China's National Medical Products Administration announced plans to support large-scale,集约化, and high-end development of the pharmaceutical industry, aiming to cultivate 3-5 globally competitive biomedical innovation clusters. It also pledged to encourage foreign investment in domestic production of original drugs and high-end medical equipment, and support Chinese companies' overseas expansion. Previously, ten ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly released the 15th Five-Year Plan for Pharmaceutical Industry Development, calling for accelerated布局 of cutting-edge technologies and cross-disciplinary collaboration. On the industry front, at the 2026 World Lung Cancer Conference (WCLC), Chinese innovative drugs achieved multiple breakthroughs in lung cancer treatment, with IO bispecific antibodies, ADCs, and small-molecule targeted drugs entering Phase III clinical trials and globalization stages. CITIC Securities noted that Chinese pharmaceutical companies have transitioned from follow-on innovation to original innovation and global leadership, particularly in bispecific antibodies and ADC tracks, with the development logic accelerating toward MeBetter and First-in-Class drugs. Key index constituents including Junshi Biosciences, Luye Pharma, and Akeso posted gains of 8.67%, 8.00%, and 7.90% respectively.
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China's Innovative Drug Policies and Licensing Deals Boost Hong Kong Biotech ETF
On September 21, the Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug Index rose 2.83%, driven by strong performances from stocks like Insilico Medicine and Zai Lab. The surge follows a series of positive policy developments and industry data. The 2026 Zhangjiang Pharma Valley Conference concluded, revealing that from January to August, China recorded 113 biopharmaceutical out-licensing deals totaling $119.97 billion, with Shanghai accounting for 33% of the transactions. On September 20, National Medical Products Administration Deputy Director Yang Sheng announced that 59 innovative drugs have been approved in China this year, and the '15th Five-Year Plan' period will prioritize review resources for innovative drugs, implement data protection systems, and establish market exclusivity periods for children's and rare disease drugs. On September 18, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and nine other departments released the '15th Five-Year Plan' for the pharmaceutical industry, targeting an average annual growth rate of over 20% for the innovative drug sector. Additionally, AnewLabs, an AI drug discovery spin-off from ByteDance, raised $290 million in its first funding round. Analysts at Changcheng Guorui Securities recommend focusing on innovative drug stocks with differentiated clinical value and robust pipelines. The article promotes the Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug Index ETF (159316), which excludes CRO/CMO companies and focuses purely on innovative drug firms.
Read sourceChina's Ten Ministries Issue 15th Five-Year Plan for Pharmaceutical Industry; Hong Kong Biotech ETF Rises
On September 21, the Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF tracked by Wanjia rose 4.07% by 9:45 AM, with turnover reaching 1.24 billion yuan. Individual stocks including Lepu Biopharma, InnoCare Pharma, Junshi Biosciences, Everest Medicines, RemeGen, Ascentage Pharma, and Luye Pharma all gained over 5%. The rally followed the September 18 joint issuance of the '15th Five-Year Plan for Pharmaceutical Industry Development' by ten Chinese ministries including MIIT and NDRC. The plan calls for cultivating innovative drug and device industries, increasing R&D investment in oncology and metabolic diseases, and supporting AI and computational medicine to empower drug R&D. Analysts at Industrial Securities stated that innovation and internationalization remain the core themes, with global competitiveness of domestic innovative drugs strengthening. Guojin Securities noted fundamental improvements in the innovative drug sector, with companies entering a harvest period due to clinical progress and insurance policy support, but warned of differentiation risks for early-stage biotech firms.
Read sourceHong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF Surges 5% on Policy and Industry Catalysts
On September 20, China's National Medical Products Administration announced plans to support large-scale, intensive, and high-end development of the pharmaceutical industry, aiming to cultivate 3-5 internationally competitive biomedical innovation clusters. The regulator also pledged to expand foreign cooperation, encouraging foreign companies to bring original drugs and high-end medical equipment into domestic production, while supporting Chinese firms' overseas expansion. This follows the release of the '15th Five-Year Plan' for the pharmaceutical industry by ten ministries, which calls for accelerating frontier technology and product deployment. At the 2026 World Lung Cancer Conference (WCLC), Chinese innovative drugs achieved multiple breakthroughs in lung cancer treatment, with IO bispecific antibodies, ADCs, and small-molecule targeted drugs entering Phase III clinical trials and globalization stages. CITIC Securities noted that Chinese drugmakers have shifted from follow-on innovation to original innovation and global leadership, particularly in bispecific antibodies and ADC platforms. As of 11:08 on September 21, 2026, the Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug ETF (159286) rose 5.07%, with component stocks Junshi Biosciences up 9.42% and Kangfang Biotech up 8.40%. The ETF tracks the Guozheng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drug Index, whose top ten constituents include Innovent Biologics, BeiGene, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, and others, accounting for 75.67% of the index weight as of August 31, 2026.
Read sourceMultiple Catalysts Boost Hong Kong Biotech Stocks; Henlius Rises Over 10% Intraday
Hong Kong-listed innovative drug stocks surged on September 21, driven by multiple catalysts. Junshi Biosciences rose 10.23%, Henlius gained 9.88%, InnoCare Pharma added 8.09%, Akeso Inc. rose 7.62%, and RemeGen Co. increased 6.69%. The rally was fueled by the release of the 'Fifteenth Five-Year Plan' for the pharmaceutical industry by ten Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Medical Products Administration. The plan targets an average annual growth rate of no less than 20% for the innovative drug industry by 2030, with first-in-class drugs accounting for at least 25% of the global share, and an average R&D investment intensity of over 10% for listed pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, the National Medical Products Administration approved China's third brain-computer interface medical device standard, accelerating clinical translation. Key data from the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) also boosted sentiment, with Akeso's ivonescimab and Hansoh Pharma's HS-20093 reporting positive Phase III results. Henlius led gains after announcing its biosimilar adalimumab (Han Dayuan) received marketing approval in Pakistan and its inclusion in the Hong Kong Stock Connect program, effective September 7, 2026.
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