China — irresistible market for pharma MNCs

Vast size, resilient supply chain, favorable policies, growth prospects prove big factors

For multinational corporations in the pharmaceutical industry, the humongous China market has been an indispensable part of their global plans for decades — and this factor is becoming even more important now than ever before, mainly due to the country's pursuit of high-quality development, experts and business leaders said.

That pursuit has showcased five factors working in China's favor: the ever-growing market size, strong industrial and supply chain resilience, well-thought-out policy support, deepening healthcare industry reform and high-standard opening-up.

These five factors figured constantly in discussions among top executives of pharmaceutical and medical device companies at the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai in early November.

Many such companies chose the CIIE to launch or showcase their newest medicines, products and first-in-class therapies. Others sought to increase their visibility at the event, with some confirming their participation in future editions of the CIIE. Clearly, China is an all-important market for these MNCs.

For instance, US-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences increased its exhibition area at the expo by five-fold this year, just one year after its CIIE debut in 2022.Gilead said it wanted to fully demonstrate innovative products in virology, oncology and other disease areas, as well as the innovative technologies behind many of its star products.

US-based life sciences company Cytiva either debuted or showcased a series of products and solutions. Among them was a solution system purpose-built for the clinical and commercial manufacturing of lipid nanoparticle medicines.

Switzerland-based Alcon, a global eyecare product and service provider, unveiled a slew of new surgical, vision care and dry eye syndrome intervention innovations at the CIIE, which included "wavelight plus", a next-generation refractive surgery system launched first in China with additional markets to follow.

"China represents a significant need when it comes to eye health, and a very important market for Alcon," said Rick Kozloski, president of Alcon China.

"Since entering the Chinese market in 1995, we have steadily increased our investment to make innovative eyecare products, treatments and services more accessible to Chinese people."

Flora Zhu, director of China corporate research at Fitch Ratings, said: "China is the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market and the demand for high-quality drugs, where the global pharmaceutical companies have a competitive edge, is strong and will continue to grow, driven by China's aging population, increasing disposable incomes, growing health awareness and rising medical insurance coverage.

"We believe global biopharma companies are likely to benefit from more government support as China is spurring foreign investment in biopharmaceuticals."

With investment sentiment subdued globally, China's policies to attract and encourage foreign investment, including in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and related industries, have proved timely, experts said.

In August, the State Council, China's Cabinet, released a set of guidelines on further optimizing the foreign investment environment and attracting offshore capital. The guidelines included several provisions related to the pharmaceutical industry, such as encouraging foreign-invested enterprises that have been listed overseas already to conduct clinical trials of cell and gene therapies on the Chinese mainland.

"We believe those measures, if implemented strictly, will help improve foreign investor confidence in China, prompting more domestic-sales-focused foreign companies, including pharmaceutical companies, to continue to invest in China," Zhu of Fitch Ratings said.

"The Chinese government's continued support for drug innovation and a policy environment conducive to the discovery of new drugs will also benefit foreign pharmaceutical companies operating in China," she said.

Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said China is becoming increasingly attractive to global pharmaceutical investors because they are confident of achieving stable and long-term growth in this market.

"China has a huge market that is expanding fast, which provides a firm ground for global pharmaceutical companies to increase their profitability.

"Besides, as the country expands market access and levels the playing field for all types of enterprises, they could respond more effectively to market demand in China to achieve long-term and stable development," Zhou said.

Jin Fangqian, vice-president of Gilead Sciences and general manager of its China arm, said the company remains committed to the China market and will increase investment here because it has witnessed and benefited from China's high-standard opening-up and pursuit of high-quality development.

"China is one of our three most important strategic markets, and we are very confident about our long-term development in China," Jin said.

Jin further said China's unwavering commitment to opening-up, improved business climate and increasing market opportunities have encouraged foreign investors like Gilead to deepen roots in the country.

Taking advantage of multiple policy measures in China, Gilead has accelerated new medicine review and registration. It has also benefited from the pilot works of opening-up platforms like the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Qionghai, Hainan province.

The zone is the first and only special medical zone in the country with an independent regulatory system to optimize the approval, Customs clearance, use and supervision of imported medical devices and drugs.

To be sure, there are more factors than just the vast size of the China market that attract pharmaceutical MNCs, experts and business executives said.

Zhou with the CAITEC said China's digital field, especially its e-commerce, has boosted pharmaceutical supply chain efficiency in China. Also, the country's huge population packs numerous advantages for developing rare disease drugs. The low cost and convenient supplies of active pharmaceutical ingredients also enhance China's attractiveness for pharmaceutical investors, he said.

Edward Zhou, president of Cytiva China, the global parent's local arm, said China is becoming a global powerhouse for pharmaceutical manufacturing at an accelerated pace. So, accelerating localization in China has become an important pillar of Cytiva's global growth strategy.

According to the latest edition of the Global Biopharma Resilience Index published by Cytiva earlier this year, China is a fine example of how robust government policy, coupled with a strong scientific culture, can power the growth of the biopharma sector.

The report findings were based on a survey of 1,250 biopharma and pharma executives in 22 countries. They rated countries' capabilities in five key areas: supply chain resilience, talent pool, research and development ecosystem, manufacturing agility, and government policy and regulation.

Among all the developing countries, China scored highest, with outstanding supply chain resilience and excellence in manufacturing.

Its biopharmaceutical supply chain resilience score was higher than that of North America and second only to Europe's, demonstrating strong adaptability in the fields of emerging therapies like cell therapy.

At the same time, its biopharmaceutical manufacturing prowess exceeds that of Europe and is only shy of North America's, with more than half of the respondents saying they are increasing investment in digital intelligence technologies, the report showed.

"In the global biopharmaceutical supply chains, ingredients for many drugs are produced in China. If any production problems arise in China, supply chains in many areas could be disrupted. China's position in the global supply chain is becoming increasingly important," Zhou of Cytiva said.

"We are committed to developing our business in China through investment and by providing products, training and other end-to-end services that could make us grow together with the industry," he said.

Jin of Gilead Sciences said the innovation capability of the pharmaceutical industry in China has been growing with the emergence of new products and technologies. This will propel the development of scientific research and diversified health solutions, he said.

Zhu of Fitch Ratings said low R&D and production costs strengthen China's competitive advantages in pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing. However, sales growth potential rather than the completeness of the domestic supply chain is what attracts global pharmaceutical companies to China.

Different from other manufacturing sectors, such as electronics and textiles and clothing, the pharmaceutical industry does not have a long supply chain. Therefore, pharmaceutical MNCs set up R&D centers and manufacturing facilities in China to serve the domestic market, she said.

Zhou of Cytiva said China also needs to dedicate more resources to cultivating talent and strengthening basic research to propel original innovation.