China is gaining a solid reputation as a pharmaceutical innovation hub, shifting from a copycat drug maker to one whose infrastructure and research and development capabilities rival global pharmaceutical behemoths, according to a global consultancy.
US-based SAI MedPartners and its unit Idea Pharma recently launched a new index with the aim of highlighting Chinese drug makers and recognising their shift from generics to “true” innovation.
The consultancy released the China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Invention Index (CPIII) on December 7 as a stand-alone ranking for the first time, after 14 years of publishing a global pharmaceutical innovation index.
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“Companies in China are also more efficient when it comes to developing medicines,” said Jacqueline Poot, the London-based president of Idea Pharma’s strategic consulting and analytics business unit. “For example, the average global cost is around US$5 billion to bring a new medicine to market, but for companies like Hengrui, it’s close to US$1 billion.”
She said that even early-stage biotech companies in China engaged in large and wide-ranging clinical trial programmes, which were rare in Europe or the US.
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