CITIC Construction Investment: There are still investment opportunities for segmented treatment in the B-cell lymphoma chronic disease management era

The Zhitong Finance App learned that CITIC Construction Investment released a research report stating that the future development direction of the B-cell lymphoma treatment industry will focus on improving efficacy, reducing recurrence, and optimizing drug administration. Innovative therapies such as small-molecule targeted drugs and CAR-T have significantly improved the survival time and quality of life of B-cell lymphoma patients and promoted the rapid expansion of the treatment market. The classification of hematologic tumors is complex, and there are still many investment opportunities in various segments of treatment. It is recommended to focus on innovative pharmaceutical companies with strong R&D capabilities and differentiated product pipelines.

CITIC Construction Investment's main views are as follows:

Driven by targeted innovative therapies, B-cell lymphoma treatment is showing a significant “chronic” trend

The survival period of patients has been greatly extended, and a huge patient base has been accumulated, and long-term and continuous demand for medication has jointly promoted the rapid expansion of the B-cell lymphoma market and the frequent introduction of major products, nurturing huge market potential. The future development direction of the industry focuses on improving efficacy, reducing recurrence, and optimizing drug administration. Currently, competition has entered a new stage, and technology iteration and exploration of new targets have become core trends. In the BTK field, the best treatments are being iteratively upgraded, and non-covalent BTK, PROTAC degradants, etc. are being actively deployed to cope with the post-drug resistance market; in the BCL-2 field, next-generation drugs seek breakthroughs by optimizing dosage plans and combination treatments; in addition, new mechanisms such as CAR-T also provide a new path for overcoming drug resistance.

The market continues to grow, and major drugs are emerging

Innovative therapies such as small-molecule targeted drugs and CAR-T have significantly improved the survival time and quality of life of B-cell lymphoma patients and promoted the rapid expansion of the treatment market. The lengthening of patient survival has brought about a huge population of surviving patients with the disease. According to WHO statistics, in 2022, there were about 4 million patients with hematoma in the world for 5 years or more, of which lymphoma patients accounted for half. The overall number of patients with hematoma was three times that of the number of new cases. The large patient stock, long-term demand for medication, and high pricing of innovative drugs have jointly spawned many major products in this field. In 2025, sales of Johnson & Johnson's daretuizumab exceeded 10 billion US dollars, global sales of ibutinib exceeded 5 billion US dollars, and various drugs such as zebutinib and vinecla also ranked at the top of the global best-selling drug list, with huge market potential.

Future directions focus on efficacy, recurrence, and drug administration

Currently, acute lymphoma (such as ALL) mainly uses chemotherapy or targeted combination chemotherapy models, and survival rates are improved through targeted therapy and multi-drug combinations. CLL treatment involves various targeted drugs such as BTK, BCL-2, and CD20, and actively explores BTK+BCL-2 fixed course administration, and lays out non-covalent BTK, dual-target BTK, BTKPROTAC, etc. to cope with the post-drug resistance market. There are many subtypes of lymphoma. Rituximab combined with chemotherapy is still the cornerstone, and both aggressive DLBCL and multiple myeloma face the challenge of recurrence and difficult treatment. Currently, CAR-T therapy has shown a high remission rate, providing an important choice for late-line patients.

Targeted drug competition has entered a new stage, and technology iteration and target innovation are the keys

In the BTK field, zebutinib defeated ibutinib through “head-to-head” research, established its “best in class” position, and gradually replaced early products; for post-drug-resistant markets, innovative products such as non-covalent BTK and BTK degradants are being developed at an accelerated pace. In the BCL-2 field, risatocla took the lead through optimized dose climbing and 1.5-line differentiated design; sotocla achieved the dual advantages of efficacy and safety through strong combinations with zebutinib.

Risk warning: Evaluation falls short of expected risk, industry policy risk, R&D falls short of expected risk, approval falls short of expected risk, sales fall short of expected risk, market competition increases risk.