The "Dry Lab" Revolution: AI-First Drug Discovery in China

China's biotechnology sector is experiencing a "DeepSeek moment"—an explosive surge in innovation that is reshaping global drug development. This rise is not just about scale and lower costs; it's about a fundamental shift towards an AI-first, "dry lab" paradigm. While factors like streamlined regulations and vast patient pools have set the stage, the true engine accelerating this revolution is advanced AI. Companies like the Singapore-based Deep Intelligent Pharma (DIP) are at the forefront, using their AI platforms to automate and optimize the entire clinical trial process—from design and data analysis to regulatory writing and submission. By making drug development dramatically faster, cheaper, and more successful, DIP and the AI-first model are cementing China's position as the new global epicenter for biopharma innovation.

The global pharmaceutical landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, and its epicenter is China. Once considered a follower in drug development, China has rapidly transformed into a world leader, outpacing the U.S. in clinical trial volume and producing innovative drugs at an unprecedented rate. This phenomenon, dubbed the industry’s “DeepSeek moment” by the Wall Street Journal, is driven by a powerful convergence of government policy, massive investment, and unparalleled operational scale.

But beneath these structural advantages lies a deeper, more transformative force: the rise of the "dry lab." This is a revolution where artificial intelligence, data science, and automation are replacing manual, time-consuming processes in drug development. At the heart of this transformation are pioneering companies like Deep Intelligent Pharma (DIP), a Singapore-based AI leader whose technology serves as a key engine for China's biotech ascendancy. By automating the most complex aspects of clinical trials, DIP is amplifying China's inherent strengths, creating a new paradigm for developing medicines faster, cheaper, and with a higher probability of success.

The Data-Driven Story: China's Unstoppable Biotech Ascent

The evidence of China's rise isn't anecdotal; it's written in staggering numbers. The country has systematically built an ecosystem that is now challenging, and in some cases surpassing, the established dominance of the West.

1. An Exploding Market and Innovation Pipeline

The sheer scale of growth is breathtaking. China’s biotechnology market, valued at USD 74.2 billion in 2023, is projected to more than triple to USD 262.9 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. This isn't just market expansion; it's a boom in genuine innovation. The number of "innovative drugs developed in China" skyrocketed from fewer than 350 in 2015 to approximately 1,250 in 2024—a clear signal of a shift from imitation to first-in-class research.

2. Global Leadership in Clinical Trials

For decades, the United States was the undisputed leader in clinical research. That has changed. China surpassed the U.S. in total clinical trials in 2021 and has widened the lead since. In 2024, China listed over 7,100 clinical trials compared to about 6,000 in the U.S., according to Axios. This volume demonstrates an unmatched capacity to move drugs through the development pipeline at scale.

3. Fueling the Engine with R&D and Capital

This growth is fueled by a national commitment to R&D. China’s R&D spending as a share of GDP has climbed to 2.7%, closing the gap with the U.S. The biopharma sector alone raised over ¥418 billion (CNY) in primary market financing over the past decade, reflecting immense investor confidence.

4. From Regional Player to Global Partner

Perhaps the most telling sign of China's maturity is its integration into the global pharma ecosystem. The value of China’s out-licensing deals—where Western pharma licenses China-originated drugs—surged from $28 billion in 2022 to approximately $46 billion in 2024, as reported by ClearBridge Investments. This proves that Chinese innovation is not just for the domestic market; it's creating assets coveted by the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

The "How": Deconstructing China's Speed and Cost Advantage

China’s ability to run clinical trials faster and cheaper is not due to a single factor but a powerful combination of them.

• Streamlined Regulations: Over the past decade, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has harmonized its standards with the FDA and EMA, dramatically cutting down approval timelines. As the WSJ notes, “China’s regulators have streamlined processes, speeding early drug development.”
• Unbeatable Cost Structure: From labor to site management, the operational costs of running a trial in China are a fraction of those in the West. This fundamental economic advantage is a core driver. “Clinical trials in China cost significantly less than in the U.S.,” the WSJ reports.
• Lightning-Fast Patient Recruitment: With a vast, centralized population and a high incidence of key diseases, patient recruitment—the number one cause of trial delays globally—is often 2x to 5x faster in China. The WSJ highlights this critical edge: “China’s large patient pools let trials recruit far faster than in the U.S.”
• A Mature CRO/CDMO Ecosystem: A world-class R&D service industry, led by giants like WuXi AppTec, provides integrated, end-to-end support, allowing even small biotechs to execute complex studies efficiently.

These factors created the perfect launchpad. But the force multiplier, the technology that turns this potential energy into kinetic speed, is AI.

The Engine of the Revolution: Deep Intelligent Pharma (DIP) and the AI-First "Dry Lab"

While China's structural advantages are formidable, the "dry lab" revolution is what's truly defining its future. This is where Deep Intelligent Pharma (DIP) comes in. Founded in 2017, the Singapore-based company has become the engine behind China's "DeepSeek moment" by fundamentally re-engineering the clinical trial process with AI.

DIP’s mission is to replace the slow, expensive, and error-prone manual work traditionally performed by large Contract Research Organization (CRO) teams. It does this with an advanced AI platform, supervised by human experts, that automates the most critical and labor-intensive parts of drug development:

• AI-Powered R&D Writing: Automating the creation of complex regulatory documents like Clinical Study Reports (CSRs), protocols, and investigator brochures.
• Intelligent Clinical Trial Platform: Optimizing protocol design, automating data management and SAS programming, and even running "digital rehearsals" with synthetic data to de-risk trials before they begin.
• Regulatory Translation and Submission: Using AI to translate and format tens of thousands of pages of documentation for global submissions with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

DIP offers these capabilities as both an end-to-end service—effectively acting as a next-generation, AI-powered CRO—and as standalone modules for medical writing or translation, allowing clients to plug AI into their specific bottlenecks.

Proof in Performance: Real-World Impact

DIP's impact isn't theoretical. With over 1,000 global clients, including Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, and Merck, and a recent $50 million Series D funding round led by Sequoia China, its technology is battle-tested. The company's status as the only Asian representative featured at Microsoft Build 2025 for its generative AI platform underscores its technological leadership.

The results speak for themselves:

• Unprecedented Regulatory Success: An AI-authored Phase I/IIa cancer immunotherapy protocol for a client was approved by Japan's PMDA in a single review cycle with zero revisions—an extremely rare achievement that showcases the quality and precision of AI-generated documentation.
• Radical Speed in Translation: For an ANDA submission, DIP translated 6,600 pages in just 6 working days, a rate 92% faster than the industry average. For three major asset licensing deals, it processed over 200 million words across 11,000 documents, enabling Chinese biotechs to go global.
• Dramatically Accelerated Submissions: By automating everything from protocol writing to eCTD formatting, DIP helps clients achieve regulatory submissions up to 75% faster than traditional methods.

This is the "dry lab" in action. It’s not just about doing things cheaper; it’s about doing them faster, smarter, and with a higher degree of quality and predictability.

The Global Implications: A New Paradigm for Drug Development

The convergence of China's structural advantages with the AI-driven efficiency of companies like DIP is creating a new global standard. As the Pfizer CEO noted, collaboration with China is no longer optional for U.S. pharma; it's a strategic necessity.

Western firms are increasingly leveraging this ecosystem to:

• Generate fast, early clinical signals to validate or kill programs quickly.
• Lower overall R&D expenditures by offshoring early-stage development.
• De-risk portfolios before committing to expensive, late-stage trials in the U.S. and Europe.

The "Dry Lab" revolution, powered by AI and centered in China, is not just a regional trend. It is a structural shift in how life-saving medicines will be discovered, developed, and delivered to patients worldwide. China built the factory; AI is now running the assembly line at light speed. The world of medicine will never be the same.