At the beginning of 2025, a Boston based biotech founder is actively preparing for a new round of financing and is in close communication with Chinese and American investors. He keenly noticed that the rise of DeepSeek is reshaping the domestic technology industry landscape, sweeping away last year's gloom, especially in the "AI+healthcare" field, where the value of Chinese assets has significantly increased and US related stocks have also experienced a surge.
The head of the biotech department of a well-known domestic fund is intensifying communication with the data intelligence team and conducting in-depth research on the independent medical teams within artificial intelligence companies. The scarcity of AI companies in the primary market has prompted investors to accelerate their layout. The DeepSeek R1 model has played a significant role in the AI craze, winning the top spot in the US and China app download charts. It has been widely adopted by government agencies, top tier hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies, and is also loved by pharmaceutical professionals.
The popularity of DeepSeek has also driven the trend of AI medical/pharmaceutical stocks, with related concept stocks rising nearly 50% in the past month. Jingtai Technology, as the "first stock of AI pharmaceuticals", will raise over HKD 2 billion in the Hong Kong stock market.
The rise of AI concept in the stock market is not the first time, but this time it is different. China has seized the opportunity in this wave, and related stocks have risen significantly. However, evaluating AI pharmaceutical companies is difficult, and the industry as a whole is in its early stages. In the field of AI pharmaceuticals, there are companies that focus on preclinical molecular screening, such as Jingtai Technology and Yingsi Intelligence, which use AI to develop products. There are also companies that combine AI screening with animal testing for CRO. Another type of company is committed to improving clinical development efficiency, such as Sepphine Pharmaceuticals using AI to screen patients and increase the success rate of clinical trials. However, AI faces the challenge of a "drug efficacy black box" in the pharmaceutical field, with complex molecular mechanisms of action that are difficult to replace through clinical validation. Nevertheless, the industry remains open to the future development of AI and looks forward to its breakthroughs in the field of life sciences.
At present, the development ideas of Chinese and American companies in the field of AI pharmaceuticals are similar, and the technological gap is not significant. China has broad prospects in algorithm innovation and talent advantages, but faces challenges in obtaining biological data and international cooperation.
The AI wave is driving changes in the fields of medicine and investment. Despite facing many challenges, the future is full of opportunities. Companies and investors are actively exploring the full chain application of AI in new drug research and development, opening a new chapter in pharmaceutical innovation.
