China’s efforts to revamp its health-care system are attracting pharmaceutical companies to the country. In 2009, the government said it would invest CNY 850 billion ($131 billion) in the system and provide health insurance to 90% of citizens by the end of this year and to every citizen by 2020. The 2010 census found that more than 13% of citizens are older than 60. From 2007 to 2009, China’s health-care market surpassed the global market by more than four times. According to Bain & Co., the health-care industry in China is projected to grow at an annual average of 15% until 2015, reaching about $600 billion. Despite the recent growth, health-care spending accounted for just 5% of GDP, compared with the US, where it accounted for 17% of GDP, and France and Germany, where it made up 12%. China is currently the third-largest pharmaceutical market. KPMG estimates that there are more than 5,000 domestic pharmaceutical companies and more than 1,000 foreign ones in the Chinese market. China will likely be a big part of how drugs are developed, tested and controlled, according to KPMG.

Source: Financial Times