U.S. venture capital firms are no longer waiting for Chinese biotech assets to surface before investing in them — they’re moving upstream, embedding themselves inside labs and courting scientists before they publish their research. In some cases, they’re vying against Chinese VCs urging scientists not to publish at all.

As multinational drugmakers flood China in search of deals, competition is intensifying, and valuations are rising sharply, according to VCs and other observers. That pressure is forcing venture capital firms to move earlier — teaming up with local partners to tap scientific discoveries before they reach the market.

Among those VC firms is RA Capital, which has invested in some of the most transformative names in Chinese biotech, including Legend Biotech, which obtained its first Food and Drug Administration approval with its cell therapy Carvykti in 2022, and Gracell Bio, which was acquired by AstraZeneca in a $1.2 billion deal in 2024.