Chinese Pharma Growth Stabilizes amid Deepening Healthcare and Drug Regulatory Reform

Metuchen NJ, September 18, 2021 – WiCON International Group LLC, the publisher of well-known WiCON | Pharma China (www.pharmachinaonline.com), announced that its China Pharmaceutical Guide 2021 (16th Edition) is now officially published.

According to the publication, the pandemic also took its tolls on Chinese pharma. SMEI reported that the combined drug sales of three major Chinese terminal markets declined 8.5% in 2020 as a result of covid-19 pandemic, reaching a total of CNY 1,643.7 billion, excluding private hospitals, clinics and village clinics, which are not covered. The year over year change of hospital, retail pharmacy and primary healthcare markets (terminal 1, 2 and 3 markets) were -12.0%, +3.2% and -11.8% respectively in 2020, down from 4.2%, 5.0% and 8.5% in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted China's expedited foray into health technology. There has been a significant increase in diagnoses and jump in prescriptions on online healthcare platforms, and accelerated the adoption of AI in CT scans, algorithms for COVID-19 detection in genomic sequencing, and AI-based research platforms for vaccines.

Domestic pharma players have increasingly turned to R&D for future growth as they boost fundraising to facilitate M&A, pipeline and expansion, while foreign companies continued to be blessed in 2020 with more new drug approvals, which understandably renewed their hope for the promised land. A slew of MNCs, including Pfizer, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Roche, J&J, Bayer, Fresenius, Novo Nordisk, AbbVie and Takeda, showed their support to the Chinese government by pledging commitments to the country’s market and signing multiple deals at the Third China International Import Expo in November 2020, even as many of them, if not all, were experiencing huge setbacks with recent sales of their flagship off-patent originator brands in China.

Structural issues with the Chinese healthcare system continued to haunt the pharmaceutical industry in 2020 and 2021. The healthcare reform has long been hijacked by cost containment and gone astray from the pledged path of improving efficiency and fixing structural flaws. Central government agencies continued to introduce a host of new healthcare reform measures throughout 2020 – in the center is China’s relentless efforts to contain healthcare costs through measures including national level volume-based procurement (VBP) tender, new policies/experiments relating to BMI payment reform, management of BMI funds, and promotion of commercial health insurance.

On the drug regulatory front, the Chinese government made numerous major moves along with many new regulations to advance drug regulatory system reform throughout 2020 and early 2021. Besides, last year is to be remembered for a great leap forward made by China in terms of strengthening pharmaceutical IP protection following adoption of a new patent law that calls for establishment of patent linkage and patent term restoration mechanisms.

Despite challenges, long-term prospects and opportunities of Chinese remain little changed. If recent trends continue, health expenditure in China is projected to grow 8.4% annually, from 5.3% of GDP in 2015 to 9.1% of GDP in 2035, according to the National Health Development Research Center. IQVIA remains committed to its positive view of the Chinese drug market. According to the latest report from The IQVIA Institute, Global Medicine Spending and Usage Trends: Outlook to 2025, which projects the global medicine market, using invoice price levels, to grow at 3–6% CAGR through 2025, reaching about $1.6 trillion in total market size in 2025.

The China Pharmaceutical Guide 2021, an indispensable annual reference for MNC pharma executives with China responsibilities for more than a decade, provides various data sets on the Chinese pharmaceutical market and drug consumption patterns from respected sources including IQVIA, SMEI, CPIIC, CPA, Sinohealth, Nicholas Hall and other official sources. The publication, from the publisher of WiCON | Pharma China and covers all aspects of Chinese pharma/healthcare sector, aims to help HQ and local executives at proactive MNCs feel the dynamic and up-to-date pulse of Chinese healthcare in order to stay in the driver seat of their business in the country.

Now in its 16th edition, China Pharmaceutical Guide 2021 continues to play an instrumental role in helping executives understand, navigate, manage and lead their pharmaceutical businesses in China.

• Authored by James J. Shen, a veteran pharmaceutical executive and the Publisher/Chief Editor of Pharma China who has three decades of managing China and Asian pharma businesses as a leading China business consultant, multinational company executive and an entrepreneur.
• Prepared for the real-world executives to help them navigate through the complex and turbulent Chinese healthcare business environment for success.
• Comprehensive and latest data on the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and market, the Chinese healthcare sector, drug evaluation and registration, and disease & drug consumption patterns – much of the data made available exclusively by reputable sources to China Pharmaceutical Guide and Pharma China.

The China Pharmaceutical Guide 2021 (16^th Edition) is presented in four comprehensive volumes:

The WiCON | China Pharmaceutical Guide 2021 (16^th Edition) is organized into the following four volumes:

Volume I – Overview of the Chinese Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Sectors (covering update of China’s business environment, history and structure of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry, Chinese health sector structure and statistics, health insurance sector structure and data, as well as disease and drug consumption patterns);

Volume II – Chinese Pharmaceutical IP and Regulatory Guide (covering the Chinese drug regulatory system overview, summaries of major healthcare/pharmaceutical related laws and regulations, government agencies and industry associations and pharma IP strategies & legal issues);

Volume III – Annual Review, Trends, Opportunities and Strategic Considerations (including a complete review of latest data, business trends, regulatory & IP/legal developments and healthcare reform progress of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and market in 2020/1H2021, and a large collection of feature articles from industry experts relating to contemporary trends, issues and strategic considerations as well as promising opportunities of the present and future); and

Volume IV – Sales & Marketing, Entry Strategies and Case Studies (covering orientation, models and strategies of pharmaceutical sales, marketing and distribution in China, marketing entry strategies and execution, case studies featuring success stories of MNCs and domestic players, R&D and outsourcing, human resource management and legal/IP issues), as well as appendices with full texts of important healthcare/pharma related policies, laws and regulations.

It is thoroughly updated with ample latest data from many reputable sources, abundant analysis by leading industry experts, new regulations and more case studies. Its coverage was renewed and expanded significantly in the following areas:

• Hundreds of pages of new data, information, analysis and case studies.
• Thorough summaries and analysis of the latest healthcare reform, drug pricing & reimbursement and hospital tender purchase policies, as well as coverage of the most recent government reorganization relating to healthcare and drug regulation.
• Comprehensive industry, market and international trade data as well as health statistics are updated with the 2020 (full year) and available data for H1/2021.
• Expanded coverage on IP, patent and anti-monopoly-related laws and regulations, e-commerce and digital marketing opportunities, the primary healthcare sector, the OTC and consumer healthcare sector, high-growth market segments, key regional hospital markets, and the pharmaceutical distribution sector,
• Updated coverage of the Chinese biosimilars/biologics market prospects and regulatory outlook.
• Updated coverage of emerging legal issues (including FCPA/compliance and liability issues) and drug-related IP and trademark concerns.
• Comprehensive top line data, research findings and observations from our collaborative partners such as Nicholas Hall and RDPAC, as well as other reputable sources including IQVIA, Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, SMEI, PHIIC, Sinohealth, Kantar Health and ZS Associates.
• All regulatory changes in 2020/1H2021 are updated to present a clear and most up-to-date picture of the Chinese drug regulatory framework with summaries and analysis of all pharmaceutical related regulations in effect by mid-2021.
• Focused coverage of China’s ongoing efforts to revamp its drug regulatory regime through amendments of the Drug Administration Law, the proposed Vaccine Management Law, the transformation of drug pricing mechanism, deepening reform of the drug registration and evaluation regime, new policies to support drug innovation, biosimilars and high clinical value generics, and the initiative to re-evaluate all generic drugs with bioequivalence studies.
• Extensive review and analysis of China’s drug registration applications and approvals as well as Chinese drug innovation trends in recent years.
• Comprehensive review of Sino-foreign M&A, joint venture, strategic alliance, licensing, research partnerships and new drug R&D events in 2020 and H12021.
• Expanded coverage on MNC performance and strategic considerations in China with healthcare reform in the backdrop, intellectual property/patent law amendments, data exclusivity, patent litigation, drug regulations, pharma marketing and distribution strategies, drug consumption patterns, the Chinese R&D and outsourcing sector, clinical studies/practices, healthcare reform, community healthcare sector, essential drug policy, regional drug consumption patterns, and the vaccine and API sectors.
• In addition to the existing five key case study areas, two more areas on pharma’s alliance with health insurance companies and with e-commerce/digital health providers are added. Numerous new case studies are added, as existing cases are updated and filtered.

All purchasers of the China Pharmaceutical Guide 2021 (16^h Edition) will receive one-year complimentary subscription of Pharma China Weekly e-Alert (Premium Edition) which provides a weekly summary of the top Chinese pharmaceutical news and Breaking News Alerts which notifies subscribers of any major unfolding events in the Chinese pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

For further information, please contact WiCON International Group to request a free promotional PDF containing the executive summary, the table of contents, the lists of tables and charts, and preface. To download our promotional PDF and a brochure/order form, please visit: http://www.pharmachinaonline.com/download/index.asp.

WiCON International Group LLC

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­WiCON International Group is the publisher of WiCON | Pharma China, the most trusted English media and source of business intelligence covering the Chinese pharmaceutical / biopharmaceutical sector.

WiCON | Pharma China (www.pharmachinaonline.com) caters for the growing needs of the global pharma industry for up-to-date and insightful intelligence on China’s burgeoning but increasingly complex healthcare marketplace. It is subscribed by most MNCs, leading CROs, investment banks, consulting firms and industry associations.

WiCON | Pharma China publishes the following products:

• Pharma China Journal Edition (monthly in PDF)
• Pharma China Web Edition (continuously-updated news and in-depth commentaries)
• China Pharmaceutical Guide (latest edition – published annually in August or September)