Leadingpharm 2026 New Year’s Message – Innovative Drugs and the First Principles

Every year around this time, I like to take a moment, stand quietly by the floor‑to‑ceiling window, and gaze at the snow‑covered Western Hills outside. The sunlight falls upon them in silent conversation with me, absorbing the year’s clamor. I savour the mist that slowly condenses from the passage of time into the breath of the new year, and then I wait—wait for the new year’s revelation to me: to unlock innovative drugs and jointly embark on the 2026 industry journey into the blue ocean of innovative drug development. And then it comes: the “First Principles” gradually emerge, grow clear, and resound across the sky!
 

China’s innovative drug industry has irreversibly entered the global track, and Chinese pharmaceutical companies—without exception, due to the unsustainability of generics—are passively or actively joining the ecosystem of innovative drugs. This entire transformation has been compressed into the short span of 2025, leaving no room for hesitation. But the speed has its advantages. Looking around, we find that regulation, capital, technology, markets, and talent are all in place, waiting for you to enter the game and set sail into the vastness of the innovative drug ecosystem.
 

How can we apply the first‑principles thinking model to find the entrance to this ever‑changing, swiftly flowing expressway of innovative drugs? First, let’s clarify two concepts. One is the first principle of innovative drugs themselves: clinical value—addressing unmet medical needs; otherwise, it is pseudo‑innovation. The other is the first principle of the commercial attributes of innovative drugs: returning to the fundamental formula “Profit = Revenue – Cost – Risk Loss”—this is the true entrance to the expressway.
 

According to the commercial first principle, the greatest variable is risk control. Behind risk control lies the comprehensive ability of a management team—whether of a startup, a transforming company, an M&A entity, or an investment firm—to judge the target, assess its own capabilities, and forecast the future. It is a systematic project of continuous management flow. Those with this ability can pass; otherwise, they are out—no seat at the table. Stopping loss in time is also the greatest profit, in line with the first principle.
 

Innovative drug development is a commercial activity that integrates technology, capital, management, time‑space, and many other elements with precision. Adhering to underlying business logic is the greatest guarantee of success. This is the key to unlocking innovative drugs—the revelation brought to us by the first principles.
 

Since we are talking about first principles, what is the first principle that Leadingpharm must follow in 2026? To create unique value for customers and achieve sustainable profitability. Today, innovation and innovative drugs have become the basic requirements of our partners and the market, so our direction is to assist them in fulfilling their needs for innovation and innovative drugs—not to become innovators ourselves.
 

After the winter solstice in Beijing, in the afternoon, with a light breeze and brilliant sunshine, the sky is high and very blue. The first principle of human society is survival and reproduction. The first principle of a company’s existence is to break through individual capability limits through organized collaboration, creating and capturing scaled value at lower cost and greater efficiency.
 

In 2026, innovation and innovative drugs are the foundation of survival and development for pharmaceutical companies. Let us clear the fog and use the most fundamental first‑principles thinking to guide us through this historic voyage across the mist.
 

The New Year’s bell will eventually ring. Seize the trend and embrace our new era.
 

Happy New Year to all Leadingpharm employees, families, and friends!
 

Tao Xinhua

Chairman of Leadingpharm

January 1, 2026

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