Opinion | How China went from generic drug factory to biomedicine innovator
A market once dominated by generics is now an AI-powered pharmaceutical hub drawing billion-dollar investments from the likes of Pfizer and GSK
It is now the second-largest developer of drugs, trailing only the United States. In the global drug development pipeline, China’s growth rate is phenomenal, leaping from 3 per cent in 2013 to 28 per cent in 2023. The drug companies developing these innovations have grown as well. The market value of Chinese pharmaceutical innovation companies listed on Nasdaq, the Hong Kong stock exchange and Shanghai’s Star Market rose from US$3 billion in 2016 to over US$380 billion in 2021.
The past several years have been the most productive for drug companies in China. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, by 2023, China’s 8.7 per cent annual growth in research and development expenditure had surpassed that of the US (1.7 per cent) and European Union (1.6 per cent). The repercussions of this transformation are evident on the global stage as pharmaceutical giants make a beeline for Chinese drugs. All that innovative strength is now attracting international partners.