Most investors searching for the “next big thing” in Chinese biotech tend to chase headlines.
Headlines like mRNA platforms, AI-drug discoveries, or gene-editing moonshots.
Meanwhile, a company like InventisBio sits quietly in the background, doing something far more unusual in China’s biotech landscape: actually delivering approved drugs.
And now that Chairman Asia has taken a closer look under the hood, it feels like one of those names that could go from overlooked to over-subscribed very quickly.
Who is InventisBio?
InventisBio is based in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone and listed on the STAR Market (SSE: 688382).
Unlike the pure-science biotechs still living off grant money and Phase I dreams, this company has what every investor wants but few biotechs can deliver: real products, real approvals, and a real pipeline with global potential.
And the more you peel back the layers, the clearer the story becomes.
This, in our opinion, is a serious contender in oncology and immunology, with assets that sit in some of the hottest drug categories on the planet.
The EGFR drug
The first approved product is befotertinib (BPI-D0316), a third-generation EGFR inhibitor.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because this is the same drug class that turned AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso into a US$10-billion blockbuster.
Befotertinib isn’t some speculative molecule. It already has Chinese regulatory approvals for:
- EGFR T790M-positive NSCLC after earlier EGFR TKIs
- First-line therapy for EGFR-sensitive mutation metastatic NSCLC
The Phase III trial (NCT04206072) went head-to-head against icotinib. The Phase II combo trial (NCT05007938) explored pairing it with icotinib in newly diagnosed disease.
The science is clean, the design is standard, and the positioning is, we believe, quite smart – a well-understood target, but in a rapidly growing oncology market.
And importantly, InventisBio didn’t go it alone.
It licensed the China rights to Betta Pharma, one of the country’s most established oncology drug companies. That deal is a major vote of confidence as Betta doesn’t partner lightly.
A first-mover advantage
If befotertinib established credibility, D-1553 (marketed as 格索雷塞 / Anfanning) is the drug that put InventisBio on the map globally.
KRAS G12C is the hottest mutation in oncology. In the US, Amgen’s Lumakras and Mirati’s Krazati kicked off a biotech arms race that continues today. China, however, has lagged, until InventisBio stepped in.
In November 2024, D-1553 became one of China’s first approved KRAS G12C inhibitors, supported by the pivotal Phase II trial NCT05383898 in advanced or metastatic KRAS G12C-mutant NSCLC.
This isn’t experimental science. This is a validated target, with a large addressable population and a regulatory green light.
And InventisBio did another savvy thing: it partnered with Chia Tai Tianqing (CTTQ), one of China’s most powerful commercialisation engines.
The deal gives CTTQ full rights to develop, register, manufacture and commercialise D-1553 inside mainland China – meaning the drug has a heavyweight distributor with nationwide reach.
That alone is a major de-risking event for investors.
A pipeline that actually looks global
If the first two drugs make InventisBio credible, the rest of the pipeline shows ambition.
D-0502, an oral SERD for ER-positive breast cancer, is now in a global Phase III programme (NCT06954961) comparing it directly against fulvestrant, the long-standing standard of care. Phase I data (NCT03471663) showed promising activity both alone and in combination with palbociclib.
This positions D-0502 in the same class as Radius/Elacestrant – meaning InventisBio is competing in a space where global M&A appetite is very real.
Meanwhile, D-2570, an oral TYK2 inhibitor for psoriasis, is moving through randomized Phase II trials (NCT06278350 and NCT07130604).
TYK2 is one of the hottest immunology targets, with Bristol Myers Squibb’s Sotyktu already generating global excitement.
Unlike many biotech pipelines where the early-stage assets look like academic experiments, InventisBio’s candidates mirror what major global players are already monetising.
So… Is InventisBio worth a look for investors?
Here’s the surprising part: despite two approved oncology drugs, multiple global-standard trials, strong strategic partners, and international ambitions, InventisBio still trades like a mid-tier domestic biotech rather than a global contender.
That disconnect (between what the company is doing and how the market is valuing it) is exactly what discerning investors look for.
We think this company is not a hype machine. It’s a builder. A grinder. A biotech that has accumulated the one thing that’s hardest to fake: clinical proof.
And in a market where dozens of companies are selling promises, InventisBio is selling products. That, in itself, makes it worth watching.
Because every now and then, a company stops being “quietly overlooked” and starts being “suddenly obvious.”
InventisBio feels dangerously close to that moment.
This article is not financial advice. Always do your own research or speak with a licensed adviser before making investment decisions.
