China's biomedical sector is rapidly transforming itself from a manufacturing base to an innovation hub, investing billions of dollars and setting up innovation centres in a bid to catch up with the west by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan, according to Lux Research.
In a report entitled "Mapping the Chinese Biomedical R&D Landscape’, part of the Lux Research China BioPharma Intelligence service, the market intelligence company’s analysts examined the state of China's biomedical sector, with particular attention to its R&D.
The R&D investments -- reaching a cumulative $160bn last year and close to surpassing Japan's spending -- are paying off with exponential increases in pharmaceutical-related patent filings, catapulting the Asian giant past the US and Japan. Also, the pace of establishment of 15 new drug innovation centres and clusters is remarkable, says the report, with super clusters forming around five major provinces.
‘Rising income levels and a shifting demographical landscape are creating a faster growing market space for innovative biomedical products in China,’ said Kevin Pang, Lux Research Director and a contributor to the report. ‘While the Chinese domestic market provides ample room for all players now, Chinese pharmaceutical companies will naturally look outside to lucrative markets in North America and Japan over time.’
The report found that sustained investment is key to rapid growth. China's drive to innovate is fuelled by sustained, and ever-increasing, funding. With cumulative funding reaching $160bn in 2012, China is poised to overtake Japan and become the second-largest R&D spender in the world, behind the US. Also, biomedical research has emerged as a focus area with funding shifting from traditional basic research to greater emphasis on commercialisation.
It also cited the Major New Drug Innovation Programme (MNDIP), which started in 2009, as the source of innovation in China, producing more than 3,000 patents and 12 products. With funding in excess of $4.5bn by 2012, China has set ambitious goals of developing 30 new innovative drugs and powering 200 drugs to sales over RMB 100m. It is targeting 100 innovative new drugs to be discovered by 2020.
Oncology has received the most attention -- 56 of the 127 MNDIP projects seek to develop drugs to treat cancer, which is now the leading cause of death in China. Biologics outweigh small molecule drugs by a large margin -- 34 for developing biologics versus only 22 for developing small molecule drugs.
Chinese pharmaceutical's rapid growth has been aided by timely changes in patent and related laws since 1992 when the nation joined the TRIPS (Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights) agreement. A latest revision has made biomedical patent protection truly enforceable, and is sure to act as a stimulus to further innovation.
