GSK has entered a sweeping licensing agreement with China's Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals worth up to $12 billion, including a $500 million upfront payment. The deal covers 12 drug programs focusing on COPD, immunology, and oncology, with the centerpiece being HRS-9821, an experimental COPD candidate in clinical trials. This marks a significant Western pharma investment leveraging Chinese innovation to expand respiratory treatment options beyond GSK’s recently approved Nucala. The pact reflects an escalating trend of Western pharmaceutical companies partnering with Chinese companies to diversify their development pipelines rapidly and cost-effectively.