Fosun Pharma chief cites Huawei as model for overseas expansion
Drugs firm’s international revenue was 3.4 billion yuan last year, a 57.9 per cent increase on 2016
The head of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, one of highly acquisitive Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group’s key offshoots, says it is aiming to become the “Huawei of the pharmaceutical industry”.
“We will also accelerate our push in research and development (R&D),” said Fosun Pharma’s chairman Chen Qiyu, referring to the popular Chinese smartphone brand, along with the US’s Johnson & Johnson as its two benchmarks for future international expansion.
Fosun Pharma ranked in China’s top five pharmaceutical firms last year. In an interview in Hong Kong, after the company reported solid annual results for 2017, Chen noted it invested around 1.5 billion yuan (US$238.9 million) in R&D.
Huawei spent a whopping US$13.8 billion annual R&D spend. The phone giant is considered one of China’s most international firms, after aggressive expansions into various markets around the globe in recent years.
Fosun Pharma acquired a controlling 74 per cent stake in India’s Gland Pharma last September for over US$1 billion, and took full control of French drug distributor Tridem, for 63 million euros (US$73 million), a month later.