On the surface Kailera Therapeutics is another US biotech start-up, with a Nasdaq listing and headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, a leafy Boston suburb and industry hub. But it got its start a world away in China, where its portfolio of weight-loss drugs was developed by Shanghai-based Hengrui Pharma, the country’s largest drugmaker by market value. Kailera’s origin story highlights an emerging trend in the global pharmaceutical industry: Chinese drugs are seeding US biotech start-ups. While big pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer have flocked to China to buy assets with the potential to replenish their pipelines, a different type of investor is emerging, targeting early-stage drugs with a view to selling them on or developing them further.

Full analysis : How biotechnology firms are using drugs developed in China are increasingly used to seed US start-ups.