After a stream of scandals and medical incidents, the Chinese public appears to be losing faith in drugs made in China. What are the implications for domestic and international pharmaceutical companies?
The Heat is On for the Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry
China’s large and still growing population, accompanied by rising household wealth and rapid increases in healthcare spending, has transformed China into the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market. In 2015, overall pharmaceutical sales in mainland China totaled more than $115 billion, placing China behind only the United States ($330 billion). With a population of over 1.3 billion, the sheer size of the market all but guarantees that the Chinese market will continue to grow despite the problems faced by the healthcare system. “Healthcare is the one market where the market size equals the population,” says Kent Kedl.
China’s Digital Healthcare Dreams
China’s healthcare sector is huge but it doesn’t mean that people are getting what they need. China’s public health infrastructure is bursting at the seams: it is clearly not equipped to meet the growing demands of 1.35 billion people and an aging society. The problem in China’s healthcare sector is two-dimensional: it involves both shortages, wherein current healthcare infrastructure is just not enough to meet the people’s needs, and skewed market dynamics, where the demand isn’t necessarily for the healthcare services that are easily accessible. Can tech companies step in with digital healthcare services and apps to help bridge the gaps?
The State of Philanthropy in China
Philanthropy in China doesn’t exactly have a good track record. What are the chances that the country will turn it around?
Robots in China: The Bot Connection
How the growing use of robots in China will impact different sectors of the economy, as well as the country’s robot makers.
Plague Management for Dummies: Lessons from the Ebola pandemic
The Ebola pandemic has exposed our vulnerability and lack of preparedness to deal with disaster. What can we learn from our mistakes?
China Roundup: China’s Economy May Need a Boost and Alibaba Triples Profits Ahead of IPO
This week, we contemplate whether China’s economy needs another stimulus given that the state of various economic indicators. In other news, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone plans to become an international trading hub for various commodities and Alibaba’s profits stunned company watchers. Does the economy need more stimulus? Since China barely missed its GDP growth target in the […]
Private Healthcare in China: Will Business Sentiment Survive?
China’s public healthcare system is ill-equipped to handle growing demand. On the other hand, private healthcare in China is not an easy field to play in due to several reasons. Will investment sentiment survive in the country’s beleaguered healthcare sector? It’s a typical scene in Subei People’s Hospital in Yangzhou, a third-tier city in China’s coastal […]
Stem Cell Research in China: Regenerative Economics
What is the state of stem cell research in China? Who is positioned to make the most money from stem cell therapy, and who or what will stand in their way? Hours after delivering her first baby, Oscar, in November 2011 at the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital in Shanghai, Cecilia Huang readily […]
Doing ‘Good’ Science by Decoding Genes
BGI-Shenzhen, the world’s largest gene sequencing entity, is placing China on the global genetics map. Yanmei Zhu, Associate Director for the Strategic Planning Committee, explains BGI’s philosophy and approach. Ten years back it would have been hard to imagine that a Chinese entity could do cutting-edge work in genetics. Today BGI-Shenzhen has changed that perception. […]
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