Friends of Cancer Research shared on LinkedIn:
“A new analysis from Friends of Cancer Research shows China has outpaced the U.S. in novel cancer drug approvals since 2023. Published in Health Affairs Scholar, the analysis found that from 2020 to 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 87 novel oncology drugs, compared with 94 approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). The NMPA’s approval volume increased substantially from 2023 to 2025 and exceeded the FDA’s during each of those years.
Even with that growth, the FDA retained important advantages: it reviewed oncology drugs a median of 182 days faster and approved five times as many global first-in-class therapies. Among the 14 drugs approved by both agencies during the study period, the FDA approved them a median of 164 days earlier.
Expedited regulatory mechanisms supported most oncology approvals in both countries, accounting for 87% of FDA approvals and 65% of NMPA approvals and reflecting the growing importance of tools designed to accelerate development and review of promising therapies for serious diseases.
‘The United States remains a global leader in bringing truly novel cancer therapies to patients’
said Friends of Cancer Research president and CEO Jeff Allen.
‘But China’s rapid growth demonstrates that leadership cannot be taken for granted. Sustaining U.S. competitiveness and timely patient access will require continued investment in regulatory science, predictable development pathways, and a research infrastructure equipped to keep pace with innovation.’ ”
Title: A cross-national review of novel oncology approvals in the United States and China (2020-2025)
Authors: Grace Collins, Divita Pandita, Hillary Andrews, Bernat Navarro-Serer, Elena Levi-D’Ancona, Jeff Allen, Mark Stewart
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