Debbie Doppelt and her son Max Doppelt. [Photo provided to en.wuxi.gov.cn]
The journey of a family from the United States across the Pacific in search of a Chinese-developed cancer drug has come full circle, highlighting the growing global reach of pharmaceutical innovation from Wuxi, according to Wuxi Daily and KFF Health News.
When Debbie Doppelt, a US patient with lung cancer that had spread to her brain, needed treatment in January 2025, her doctor told her family, "If only she were Chinese, she could get the medicine at a pharmacy in China."
The drug, sunvozertinib, was developed by Wuxi-based Dizal Pharma and approved in China in August 2023. In 2025, before its US commercial launch, Debbie's son, Max, traveled to Shanghai to obtain the medicine for his mother.
On Oct 23, Dizal announced that sunvozertinib had officially launched in the US, following FDA accelerated approval in July 2025. It is the first China-developed first-in-class drug to gain US approval for its target, marking a milestone for Wuxi's pharmaceutical industry.
The breakthrough is part of a broader trend. Wuxi is seeing more local drugmakers expand overseas through different strategies.
D3 Bio, a Wuxi-based company dedicated to the research and development on precise therapeutic drugs for tumors and immunity. [Photo provided to en.wuxi.gov.cn]
D3 Bio is advancing four drug candidates through global clinical trials, while Abogen Biosciences signed a licensing agreement with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis in October, with potential deal value reaching $7.78 billion.
Meanwhile, Norroy Bioscience is pursuing international opportunities in radiopharmaceuticals, with its candidate NYM096 receiving FDA Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track designations. The company has also exported radiopharmaceutical manufacturing equipment to India.
Behind these advances is a growing ecosystem supporting global drug development. Wuxi has attracted international clinical laboratory service provider LabConnect and established a 2 billion yuan ($304.67 million) biomedical accelerator fund with Vivo Capital.
The city's biomedical industry now exceeds 200 billion yuan in scale, with nearly 2,500 companies and five domestically developed Category 1 innovative drugs approved for marketing.
From individual drug approvals to global partnerships and technology exports, Wuxi is building a diverse pipeline of pharmaceutical innovation with ambitions that extend well beyond China.
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