Chinese drugmakers struggle to recruit in APAC

Key Takeaways

• Reuters (15–16 July 2026) quotes Hengrui and CanSino leaders on shortages in global development, regulatory, and cross-cultural management talent.
• Henlius HKEX 2025 annual report (2696) cites in-house clinical/regulatory teams in the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia, plus Japan MAH status.
• Henlius reports 27 IND and 28 NDA approvals across about 66 countries/regions in 2025, and clinical operations in nearly 30 countries/regions.
• PMDA global-trial principles require Japanese efficacy/safety evaluation—raising APAC hiring needs distinct from EU/US-only expansion stories.

APAC talent and expansion signals at a glance

Signal	Detail	Source
Hiring bottleneck	Shortage of staff for overseas trials, multi-jurisdiction filings, international marketing	Reuters (Hengrui, CanSino)
Henlius APAC teams	In-house clinical and regulatory affairs teams in Japan and Australia (also US/EU)	HKEX 2025 annual report
Japan presence	Japanese subsidiaries acquired MAH qualification; Eisai deal for serplulimab (Feb 2026)	HKEX annual report
2025 filing pace	27 IND and 28 NDA approvals across ~66 countries/regions	HKEX annual report
Japan data bar	Global trials must support evaluation of Japanese efficacy/safety	PMDA Basic Principles PDF

What did Reuters report about the talent shortage?

In Reuters’ 15 July 2026 analysis on Chinese drugmakers’ global hiring struggles, executives said China’s rise as a hub for experimental medicines has outpaced the workforce needed to take products global. Hengrui chairman Sun Piaoyang cited needs in global multicentre trials, overseas registration, and commercialisation, and a shortage of people with international regulatory and cross-cultural management expertise.

CanSino CEO Yu Xuefeng told Reuters that specialists for overseas trials, multi-jurisdiction submissions, and international marketing remain scarce. The piece notes China-headquartered sponsors still run most trials only in China, while overseas regulators increasingly expect multiregional evidence—raising APAC hiring pressure for Japan, Australia, and other ex-China sites.

How is Henlius staffing Japan and Australia operations?

Henlius’s 2025 annual report filed on HKEX (24 April 2026; stock code 2696) states the company established in-house clinical and regulatory affairs teams in markets including the United States, Europe, Japan, and Australia to operate clinical trials and communicate directly with regulators.

The same report says Japanese subsidiaries acquired Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) qualification, that in-house clinical-operations teams in China, the United States, and Australia were advancing studies in nearly 30 countries/regions, and that during the reporting period the group achieved 27 IND approvals and 28 NDA approvals spanning about 66 countries/regions. In February 2026, Henlius entered a license agreement with Eisai to commercialise HANSIZHUANG (serplulimab) in Japan—another APAC role that needs local medical, quality, and regulatory capacity.

Why do PMDA rules raise distinct APAC talent needs?

PMDA’s Basic Principles on Global Clinical Trials state that when conducting a global trial it is necessary to evaluate ethnic-factor effects and the efficacy and safety of investigational drugs in Japanese subjects, and that designs and analytical methods should be acceptable to Japan.

That framework differs from a China-only programme: sponsors need bilingual project managers, Japan GCP-capable monitors, and regulatory writers who can answer PMDA questions. Reuters’ talent shortage narrative therefore has a concrete APAC hiring surface—Japan and Australia team build-outs of the kind Henlius discloses—rather than only US/EU commercial launches.

What does ClinicalTrials.gov show about multiregional execution?

Multiregional oncology programmes illustrate the operational load behind APAC expansion. ClinicalTrials.gov study NCT03520478 (CHART / rezvilutamide) documents an international Phase 3 design that Chinese sponsors have used to support overseas filings; such protocols require country-level staffing for site start-up, safety reporting, and regulator queries.

When companies cannot hire those roles quickly, Reuters notes they often lean on partners—slowing timelines rather than cancelling programmes. For APAC hospital sites and CROs, that implies more partner-dependent Chinese-sponsored trials and competition for Japan/Australia-experienced clinical managers.

What does this mean for APAC employers and partners?

Chinese oncology and vaccine sponsors expanding into Japan and Australia need people who can run local ethics/GCP processes, prepare PMDA or TGA-facing modules, and manage bilingual medical information. Henlius’s disclosed Japan MAH and Australia clinical teams show one response model: build in-house capacity rather than rely only on China headquarters.

Related NovaPharmaNews APAC coverage includes Insilico–Bora alliance analysis, Leqembi LEADER study notes, and TGA Australia drug approval context.

What remains unproven?

Reuters’ findings are interview-based industry reporting, not a regulator census of APAC vacancies. IQVIA/ICON statistics reprinted alongside the Reuters piece are not independently verified here from those vendors’ primary pages. Henlius’s annual report describes organisational build-out and filing counts; it does not quantify open requisitions or time-to-hire. PMDA principles set expectations; they do not measure Hengrui’s or CanSino’s Japan headcount.

Frequently Asked Questions

Primary Sources

1. Reuters: Chinese drugmakers struggle to recruit staff for global expansion
2. HKEX: Shanghai Henlius Biotech 2025 Annual Report (2696)
3. PMDA: Basic Principles on Global Clinical Trials
4. ClinicalTrials.gov: CHART / NCT03520478