Government reforms to boost China's pharmaceutical sector: report

The sector is described to be “one of the most attractive investment destinations in the Asia Pacific region”.

The pharmaceutical sector in China will benefit from continued investment flows as the government continues its efforts to improve its quality and broaden the scope of the Universal Healthcare scheme, according to Fitch Solutions.

Such initiatives will create an uptick in healthcare access, which will then result in increased demand for medicines. Moreover, the pharma sector is also supported by the market’s ageing population and its well-established manufacturing industry for pharmaceuticals.

“Whilst the Chinese pharmaceutical market continues to face uncertainty on the back of challenges around drug pricing and the low levels of intellectual property protection, we maintain our view that it presents one of the most attractive investment destinations in the Asia Pacific region,” Fitch Solutions said.

On the other hand, the report also mentioned a number of multinational pharma firms that posted positive growth in China last Q1 2019, which includes Novartis, AstraZeneca and Sanofi.

“Given the bright outlook for medicine sales and the substantial potential for growth in the market, these firms will seek to expand their presence,” Fitch Solutions said.