The New Rules of Global Drug Development

Caidya Executive Chairman Lingshi Tan explains why capital discipline, early clinical execution, and global development strategy are becoming central to biotech success

By
James Strachan
July 28, 2026
9 min

The Medicine Maker

Objective:

To explore the evolving landscape of drug development in the post-COVID era, focusing on funding models, investor expectations, and innovative approaches.

Approach:

Current Landscape Overview: Discussion on the evolution of drug development post-COVID, highlighting the adoption of decentralized trials, regulatory flexibility, and innovative approaches.
Funding Model Changes: Analysis of how funding models and investor expectations have shifted, emphasizing the need for early clinical signals and global competition.

Key Findings:

Early human data has become a critical value inflection point in drug development.
The drug development landscape is becoming more innovative and fragmented.
Geographic distribution of drug development is shifting towards a multipolar ecosystem.
Funding models have changed, with increased emphasis on collaborative risk-sharing and global market strategies.

Interpretation:

Limitations:

The article does not provide specific data on the success rates of new funding models.
Future projections are speculative and may not accurately reflect actual developments.