BEIJING - China has risen to the world's second place in terms of new drug development, with domestic drugs under research accounting for over a fifth of the global total, a health official said on Thursday.

In recent years, a series of innovative medicines developed by China -- including some anti-cancer drugs -- have been approved for market launch, filling gaps in the country's portfolio of homegrown treatments, said Guo Yanhong, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC).

Guo added that one of the new drugs, Zanubrutinib, has received approval for use in many other countries.