China will become more influential in the world’s drug market as rush for coronavirus vaccine spurs more investment, research, says Fosun Pharma
- Regulatory changes aimed at lowering prices, and greater investment in research and development triggered by Covid-19 will give China an edge, says Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical
- ‘In the next five years, I believe there will be a number of Chinese pharmaceutical firms joining the world’s top list,’ says chairman Chen Qiyu
Regulatory changes intended to bring down the cost of commonly used drugs, coupled with other policies such as quicker approval procedures, could trigger an explosion in the development of innovative new drugs.
“China’s pharmaceutical market has been experiencing drastic changes, with the government formulating many new policies such as a centralised drug procurement system,” said Chen Qiyu, chairman of Fosun Pharma, a unit of mainland conglomerate Fosun International.
“In the next five years, I believe there will be a number of Chinese pharmaceutical firms joining the world’s top list. I hope Fosun Pharma can be one of them.”
On September 25 last year, the National Health Security Administration and other central government departments jointly issued policies that raised a centralised drug procurement scheme to the national level, the aim being to bring down the cost of certain key medicines
Under the new system, the central government picks the drug maker offering the best price for the medicine in question, and agrees at the bidding stage to buy a fixed quantity over a set time.
The winner of the bidding process can immediately sign the procurement agreement, which will eliminate the grey areas found in the old, multi-layered procurement process, resulting in a decrease in drug prices, according to a report released on April 3 by Beijing-based Zhong Lun Law firm.