Abstract
China' s pharmaceutical market is the third largest in Asia Pacific, ahead of
India and behind Japan.
Combined sales of prescription products and
over-the-counter (OTC) medicines reached US$36.99bn in
2008 - a 25.1%
increase compared to the previous year. Drug spending accounts for 0.97% of
GDP and
annual per capita expenditure is US$27.50. Through to 2013, BMI is
forecasting a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 14.92% for the overall
pharmaceutical market.
It appears that intellectual property (IP) is being
embraced by local drugmakers. It was revealed in April
2009 that the
number of submissions and approvals for patent application from domestic
players in
China' s pharmaceutical industry were increasing at a faster
rate than those from foreign parties, according
to the State Intellectual
Property Office (SIPO).
During 2009, Hebei province will pilot the
separation of prescribing and dispensing of pharmaceuticals at
hospitals.
BMI believes the main beneficiaries of the change are generic drug
manufacturers, pharmacy
chains and, most importantly, patients.
Despite lingering questions of quality, efficacy and safety, the significance
of traditional medicines in
China cannot be overstated. These
interventions have a firmly entrenched position in society and generate
huge revenues for manufacturers, prescribers and retailers. Such is the
popularity of ancient herbs in the
world' s most populous country that
sales of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for the treatment of
cardiovascular conditions exceed that recorded by Western pharmaceuticals in
certain large cities.
The country has had limited success in Western or
allopathic pharmaceuticals, but this situation is
changing. In March 2009,
Beijing Healthstar Pharmaceutical started commercialising Su Ling
(haemocoagulase agkistrodon). The haemostatic is derived from snake venom and
will be patented soon.
Su Ling was approved by the State Food and Drug
Administration (SFDA) in September 2008 as a
' Chinese self-developed Class
I drug' .
The global financial crisis has benefited the active
pharmaceutical ingredient (API) sector. In February
2009 it was revealed
that the prices of some Chinese APIs jumped in the first half of the month due
to a
spike in overseas demand and insufficient supply from scaled-back
production.
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