New | ‘Made in China’ drugs on the rise, rivalling multinationals as Beijing focuses on making its own medicine
Chinese firms are developing more new drugs to cater to the needs of the country’s vast ageing population
China, already a global powerhouse in hi-tech areas from solar panels to bullet trains, is turning its industrial might to making more of its own drugs for its vast ageing population.
Given the 10 years or more it typically takes to bring a new medicine to market, original “Made in China” treatments won’t arrive overnight, but multinationals are already encountering more competition from local generic drugs that look set for a quantum leap in quality.
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The stakes are high. China is the world’s second-biggest drugs market behind the United States, and fast food, smoking and pollution have fuelled a rise in cancers and chronic diseases. The country also has more diabetics than any other in the world, with numbers expected to hit 151 million by 2040 from 110 million today.
That has made it a sweet spot for Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, the world’s biggest insulin producer, which opened production facilities there in 1995. By 2010, it dominated 63 per cent of China’s insulin market. But it has been losing ground to local rivals.
“China is going to be tough for us for the next couple of years,” said chief science officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen. “Right now, the country is focused on building domestic production.”
Local rivals are selling both cut-price basic insulin as well as sophisticated modern versions.