07:53 AM EDT, 10/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Pfizer ( PFE ) Chief Executive Albert Bourla said the US pharmaceutical industry needs to collaborate with China's as the country now accounts for about 30% of global drug development, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing Bourla's remarks Tuesday at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Gala in New York.

"In biopharma, China's dramatic speed, cost and scale have triggered a shift in the global competitive landscape," Bourla was quoted in the report as saying.

Bourla said China has around 1,200 novel drug candidates, up from about 60 a decade ago, and added that Chinese biotech firms accounted for nearly one-third of all large pharma drug licensing deals last year. According to Bourla, Chinese biopharmaceutical companies can recruit patients for clinical trials two to five times faster than US companies.

Pfizer ( PFE ) did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MT Newswires.

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