China’s pharmaceutical industry output is expected to grow 20% annually, surpassing CNY 3 trillion ($460.44 billion) in 2015, according to a 12th Five-Year Plan for the industry, which is slated to be published in May. According to Chinese Pharmaceutical Enterprises Association President Yu Mingde, the plan aims for the 100 manufacturers with the highest sales volumes to make up 40% of the total market by 2015. This could prove difficult, according to CIC Industry Research Center analyst Guo Fanli, due to a highly segmented industry and government control of drug prices. There are approximately 4,800 drug manufacturers in China, 70% to 80% of which are small- to medium-size firms. The Plan also calls for the establishment of pharmaceutical distributors that have annual sales exceeding CNY 100 billion, as well as about 20 regional distributors with annual sales of more than CNY 10 billion. Mr. Yu also said that quality control, including updated quality standards, would be important for the industry’s future.

Source: Global Times