The two drugs were approved only six months later as two foreign anti-PD-1 treatments entered the China market, and followed shortly by a third domestic PD-1 treatment early this year.

BeiGene's anti-PD-1 treatment also obtained approval from the Chinese drug regulatory authorities on Saturday.

The company has been also implementing about 20 clinical trial programs globally on Brukinsa's efficacy on other types of blood or lymph tumors, with high hope to get more market approvals in the near future.

The company, which has nearly 10 new drug candidates in pipeline, is a partner in a global strategic oncology collaboration with Amgen, a California-based biopharmaceutical company that is a global leader in this niche.

Chinese biotech firms are increasingly offering China-developed high-quality treatments to Chinese patients, which will help challenge the expensive prices of imported drugs, Wu said.

With innovative drugs such as anti-PD-1 and Brukinsa, Chinese drug companies also have the ability to offer treatment options for patients abroad, especially those in the Belt and Road economies, he said.

Wu joined the Beijing-headquartered company in 2018 from Pfizer China, which he headed since 2009.

His jump to the Chinese biotech startup founded in 2010 surprised many as he had more than 26 years of rich experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including 17 years leading China operations of big-name multinational pharmaceuticals such as Wyeth and Bayer.

He returned to Beijing in 1996 to co-build Bayer's China branch as marketing head. Prior, he was in Germany where he received a master's degree in molecular biology and a PhD in biochemistry and pharmacology from the University of Konstanz. He started his career at Bayer's sales and marketing in 1992.

In 2004, he rose to general manager of Wyeth China. In 2009, as Pfizer acquired Wyeth, he was named head of the combined group.

He also served as vice chairman of the R&D-based Pharmaceutical Association Committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment since 2008.

Under his belt are numerous industry awards, including the "Person of the Year" in Healthy China Awards 2017, "2017 Top 10 Most Influential Persons in the Chinese Healthcare Industry" and the "2017 Social Responsibility Eminent Person Award".