Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/10/2013 -- While multinational pharmaceutical firms continue to see double-digit sales growth in China, we note that for several firms, expansion of revenue has declined slightly compared with recent quarters. Pricing issues, coupled with the government's investigation into corruption claims, remain a key concern for companies and their investors. However, we do not expect to see any major shake-ups in the sector given that the enquiry is not due to be completed before November 2013.

Headline Expenditure Projections

- Pharmaceuticals: CNY453.2bn (US$71.8bn) in 2012 to CNY532.4bn (US$85.9bn) in 2013; +17.5% in local currency and +19.6% in US dollar terms. Absolute figures downgraded from Q313 following reassessment of historic data.
- Healthcare: CNY2,836.6bn (US$449.6bn) in 2012 to CNY3,271.1bn (US$527.6bn) in 2013; +15.3% in local currency terms and +17.4% in US dollar terms. Forecast unchanged from Q313.

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Risk/Reward Rating: China's Pharmaceutical Risk/Reward Rating (RRR) score for Q413 is 63.5 out of the maximum 100 under our newly improved RRR system. The country scored above average for majority of the indicators and sub-indicators including overall market expenditure, sector value growth, patent respect and policy continuity. Consequently China is ranked fifth, behind Japan, South Korea Australia and Taiwan among the 19 key markets in Asia Pacific.

Key Trends And Developments

- In July 2013, China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) revoked Gilead Sciences's patent for Viread (tenofovir), a treatment for hepatitis B and HIV/AIDS, after a challenge from local active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturer Aurisco. SIPO stated that Viread is not a novel drug as its API was discovered in Czech Republic in 1985. Viread was first approved in China in 2008, with its patent expiry scheduled in 2017. The company stated that it is evaluating its options after receiving the notice from SIPO.
- In the same month, the Chinese government started a pricing investigation in the pharmaceutical sector. A statement released by the Evaluation Center of Drug Pricing National Development explained that the purpose of the enquiry is to understand the pharmaceutical supply chain process, recognise the costs involved and ensure the timely adjustment of drug prices. Around the same time, the government also uncovered corruption and bribery by GlaxoSmithKline. Several multinational pharmaceutical firms were also investigated for similar bribery allegations.
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