In the field of biomedicine, major products with annual sales exceeding US$1 billion are vividly referred to as "blockbuster" drugs. It is reported that China has welcomed another blockbuster drug, namely Carvykti (Cediranib Injection), a CAR-T product from the Chinese innovative drug company Legend Biologics.
According to the data, the sales of Cediranib injection increased significantly in 2025, with global sales reaching $1.887 billion, a 95.95% increase compared to the $963 million in revenue during the same period in 2024. Specifically, the product's sales in the fourth quarter of 2025 amounted to $555 million, marking a year-on-year growth of 65.8%.
$1.887 billion! This also means that Cedarcion has become a domestic "billion-dollar molecule". According to the information, Carvykti is a CAR-T therapy targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA). In 2017, Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech reached a global cooperation agreement on the CAR-T product Carvykti, with an initial payment of $350 million. In February 2022, the product was approved by the US FDA for marketing, used to treat multiple myeloma patients who have undergone four or more lines of treatment.
At the 44th JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, Legend Biotech disclosed data showing that the cumulative number of patients treated with Cedartide has exceeded 10,000. Cedartide's Raritan production base in the United States has completed physical expansion and is currently the largest cell therapy production facility in the country.
In 2025, the global business footprint of Cediranib further expanded, with its use in over 279 treatment centers across 14 markets worldwide. Currently, Cediranib's revenue primarily comes from the US market, with US revenue reaching $1.493 billion in 2025, accounting for nearly 80% of the total revenue. In the Chinese market, although Cediranib has been approved for marketing, it has not been commercially sold.
According to the information, Legend Biologics is a large independent cell therapy company dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies that can change the landscape of cancer treatment. Cediranib has achieved impressive results in the global market, which may help Legend Biologics to become profitable. Relevant personnel from the company stated that the company is expected to achieve transformative growth in 2026 and will strive to become profitable this year by promoting the global application of Cediranib. It is reported that in terms of expanding new indications, Legend Biologics completed the enrollment of subjects for the Phase 3 clinical trial CARTITUDE-6 in August 2025, which targets newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients eligible for transplantation.
In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have actively strengthened the development of CAR-T therapies. As of now, including Carvykti from Legend Biologics, there are already 6 to 7 CAR-T therapies available on the market in China. Additionally, many Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies have invested in in vivo CAR-T technology and have made considerable progress. For example, Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group recently announced that its self-developed in vivo CAR-T product, SYS6055 injection, has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for clinical trials in China. This product generates CD19-targeted CAR-T cells directly in the body through lentiviral vectors, providing a new potential treatment option for patients with relapsed/refractory aggressive B-cell lymphoma.
SYS6055 injection is an in vivo CAR-T product that has been approved for clinical trials in China. Compared to traditional ex vivo prepared CAR-T therapies, it utilizes innovative lentiviral vector technology to directly generate CAR-T cells in vivo, thereby exhibiting potential advantages in terms of treatment cost, accessibility, and timeliness. The clinical indication approved this time is for relapsed/refractory aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Furthermore, this product also has potential for the treatment of other CD19-positive B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases, demonstrating significant clinical development value.
In addition, a large number of Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies, such as Yunding Xinyao, Genexine, BGI Genomics, and Bangyao Biotech, have made significant layouts in the field of in vivo CAR-T.