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.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
“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.”
An increasing number of early-stage biotech companies in China were engaging in large and wide-ranging clinical trial programmes. Photo: Xinhua alt=An increasing number of early-stage biotech companies in China were engaging in large and wide-ranging clinical trial programmes. Photo: Xinhua>
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.
“[Moreover], China has really become the destination of choice for global players to find novel assets for their pipelines – particularly in oncology, where by 2030, up to half of current branded products will have expired patents.”
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals took the top spot, followed by BeOne, across all measures of the Chinese index among 30 mainland companies that were evaluated.
The index was built around two sub-indices: an innovation index, which measured how effectively companies turned an invention into meaningful clinical and commercial value, and the invention index, which tracked the creation of novel drugs and technologies that did not previously exist.
While Hengrui excels in solid tumour treatments, BeOne has distinguished itself with its BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib and PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab for cancer treatments.
