Research and development innovations poised to cure more ills

In mid-December, Shanghai Junshi Biosciences raised $394 million after pricing a Hong Kong initial public offering at the bottom of a marketed range.

At the same time, the Shanghai company's new drug Toripalimab was conditionally approved for the treatment of melanoma, becoming the first made-in-China immuno-therapy treatment for cancer to be approved by the National Medical Products Administration.

For Lewis Ho, a partner in the life sciences practice at law firm Loeb & Loeb, the start of the nation's healthcare research and development can be traced to 2006.