Культурный интеллект важнее юридических условий: как азиатские биотехнологии меняют глобальные сделки

Why cultural intelligence can trump contract terms in cross-border collabs As biotech partnerships shift eastward, mastering cultural nuances and geopolitical risks matters more than ever for successful international deals. The biotech licensing landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation. In 2025, Chinese drug developers signed 157 out-licensing deals with pharmaceutical companies worth $136 billion in total. While China can often dominate headlines, the entire Asia-Pacific (APAC) region – from South Korea and Japan to Singapore and beyond – is driving an unprecedented wave of cross-border dealmaking that's reshaping global biotech. At Asia Bio Partnering Forum in Singapore, experts discussed that those who fail to recognize the cultural and geopolitical complexities at play risk leaving millions on the table – or worse, watching promising partnerships collapse. The cultural clock of dealmaking Frank Grams, chief BD&L officer at Partex NV, has negotiated biotech deals across different continents, and his experience has shown that timeline expectations can differ between regions. "There's a massive difference if you do a deal in China, Japan, or the US," Grams explained. "Chinese and US negotiations move pretty fast, whereas Japanese culture wants everything aligned. It is slower, but that doesn't mean they don't want the deal." This is not about efficiency. It's about fundamentally different approaches to partnership. While American dealmakers might be more akin to getting terms locked down quickly and moving on, Asian partners – particularly in Japan – view the contract as the beginning of a relationship, not the conclusion of negotiations. Grams pointed to a 2003 deal he helped negotiate that remains active and successful 23 years later. "You will not find that in China," he noted. The implications are significant. Companies pursuing multi-territory licensing strategies are not just multiplying their market reach – they are multiplying potential friction points. Each additional partner brings distinct cultural expectations around speed, reliability, and trust. He offered the audience some advice and said the “best way to deal with this is that you have people involved who have lived both worlds and that they can understand these differences.” Eastern patience vs Western directness Anthony Hsiao, partner at VC fund ZhongMei Capital (a name that means "Chinese-US capital"), bridges both worlds. His insight highlighted why so many cross-border partnerships face challenges. "In the US, it's very ethnically and culturally diverse, so people are very direct. You have to say what you mean, and mean what you say. Directness is a virtue," Hsiao said. "In China, being direct is sometimes seen as rude or crude. Trust is everything." He described how by the time you are in a board meeting in China, the decision has already been made. The meeting itself is theater – the real negotiation has probably happened in relationship-building conversations that some might often dismiss as social niceties. "In a world where AI is commoditizing everything, soft skills are incredibly important," Hsiao emphasized. His advice to business graduates was to leave their home country and spend time somewhere else. "It's easy to talk about cultural differences but go to that space and make those mistakes. It pays dividends as you get older." In order to make money in this business, you have to be contrarian, and you have to be right. It's easy to say right now that China has good assets – you'd be right, but you wouldn't be contrarian. You would have been contrarian saying that in 2018. Driven by need, not hype The shift toward APAC cross-border biotech partnerships is not speculative. It is structural. "Look at the Trump government and funding for science," Grams observed. "There's still a massive need. [The] global population is growing, we need more drugs to fill medical needs. Right now, it's Asia fulfilling this. Yes, valuations are getting higher, but it's driven by need." The supply-demand equation has fundamentally shifted. With reduced innovation output from the US and Europe, Asia has emerged with innovative products the world desperately needs. Hsiao reinforced this with a venture capital lens: "In order to make money in this business, you have to be contrarian, and you have to be right. It's easy to say right now that China has good assets – you'd be right, but you wouldn't be contrarian. You would have been contrarian saying that in 2018." Zach Chia, VP of strategy & BD at Anocca, agreed with Hsiao and pointed out that "Asian science and innovation is established and world leading. It is not a bubble." Beyond cultural considerations, Asia offers tangible operational benefits. Hsiao noted that moving assets to China is "faster and cheaper – sometimes US development costs two to three times the price and takes longer." This isn't about inferior quality. "It's not that CROs are any worse," Hsiao clarified. "Chinese ones have vastly improved over the years." However, there's a critical nuance: pricing differs dramatically depending on whether you're a foreign company entering China or a domestic entity. Understanding these dynamics requires local expertise and relationship capital. The geopolitical shadow Perhaps the most sobering insight came from Hsiao's assessment of risk. "Healthcare should be the last thing affected by geopolitics, but it isn't." He painted a stark picture: "God forbid you're a cancer patient – you won't care who made the drug, you just want it to work. But there are political forces at play whose alignment might not be with what we want." Ultimately, the executives who thrive will be those who invest in cross-cultural experience, build genuine relationships before contracts are signed, and maintain the flexibility to structure deals around biological and commercial reality rather than template terms. Those who don’t will get left behind. Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity. ChinaBio Partnering Forum Apr 28, 2027 TO Apr 29, 2027 |Shanghai, China Connecting China’s Biotech Innovations with the Global Life Science Ecosystem through cross-border partnerships. Read more about: