China’s drug and medical device sector emerges as new engine of economic growth

China’s pharmaceutical industry, whose revenue is projected to rise by 50 per cent between 2024 and 2030, has emerged as a new growth engine for the national economy as leading players ramp up investment in research and production.

The country’s drug and medical device businesses were forecast to top US$2.1 trillion in revenue by 2030 and US$3.2 trillion annually by 2050, according to estimates by UBS. In 2024, the sector generated about US$1.4 trillion in sales.

“An ageing population offers the biggest boost to pharmaceutical firms,” said Chen Chen, head of China healthcare research at UBS. “China’s per-capita spending on medical care has also been rising constantly.”

Innovative drugs – novel medicines targeting unmet medical needs, including new chemical entities and advanced biologics – were expected to outpace other segments with an annualised growth of 20 per cent between 2026 and 2030, before slowing to 8.8 per cent from 2030 to 2040, she added.

Innovative efforts by biotech firms have also bolstered Beijing’s ambitions of building China into a technology powerhouse with a grasp of core technologies amid an uncertain geopolitical outlook.

“With several products approved for launch in Europe and the US, our overseas business has sustained high growth, and the ability to engineer a comprehensive go-global drive has been fully displayed,” said Zhu Jun, CEO of Shanghai Henlius Biotech.