On Jun. 29, 2026, China announced it has broken ground on what developers say is the country’s first production line for AI-assisted personalised tumour vaccines, raising hopes for millions of new cancer patients every year – a disease that ranks as the nation’s second-leading cause of death.

By October, Beijing-based Likang Life Sciences is expected to complete a new drug research and manufacturing centre in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, with a total investment of about 110 million yuan (US$16.1 million), according to the district government.

The facility will house cell therapy research laboratories together with a production line of the company’s flagship product, LK101, a personalised cancer vaccine that analyses each patient’s tumour DNA to pinpoint the specific genetic mutations driving the disease. With AI, the company said the procedure could be completed in a day.

The project reflects a global shift in the pharmaceutical sector towards harnessing artificial intelligence. The technology was widely used in drug discovery and clinical trials, as well as areas such as data analysis, data monitoring and medical writing, said Grace Wang, a partner based in L.E.K. Consulting’s Shanghai office, in a video posted in early June.

The global AI healthcare market could exceed US$1 trillion by 2035, according to Bank of America, highlighting the commercial potential of such technologies.

China recorded about 5.15 million new malignant tumour cases in 2024, with 2.67 million in men and the rest in women, according to the latest data released by China’s National Cancer Centre. It is the nation’s second-leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease, according to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

The drive to embed AI into medicine has opened up lucrative opportunities, fuelling a slew of deals. Hong Kong-listed US biotech firm Insilico Medicine, for example, has struck a deal worth up to US$2.5 billion with South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals to develop treatments for neuroimmune disorders of the central nervous system, by using Insilico’s AI drug discovery tool, according to a June 22 filing