China, the second largest drug market, has increased its commitment to its domestic pharmaceutical industry. This year, sales of the country’s 10 largest pharmaceutical companies grew an average of 12%, according to IMS Consulting. Multinational drug firms, including Novo Nordisk and GlaxoSmithKline, report increased competition. Domestic firms, such as Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals and Fosun Pharma, sell lower-priced drugs as well as branded generic drugs. Fueling sales is a change in government policy that discourages smaller hospitals in counties from marking up drug prices, which now makes foreign companies more dependent on sales of new drugs. To increase volumes, many foreign drug makers have partnered with local companies to spur sales in areas outside major cities. The Chinese FDA has pledged to approve new drugs faster and more closely monitor the quality of local generic drugs. Domestic companies poised to benefit from the changes include Hua Medicine and BeiGene. Dennis Gillings, Quintiles executive chairman, expects a Chinese firm to be among the world’s top 20 drug companies by sometime in the 2020s.

Source: Reuters