SHANGHAI: German life sciences company Bayer AG is confident about the rapidly developing Chinese pharmaceutical market and will continue to invest and bring more innovative products into the country, the head of its pharmaceuticals division says.
“China has been and remains one of our most important markets. It is developing fast and its healthcare system is becoming much more similar to what I am used to in Europe.
“It is the second-largest pharmaceutical market in the world now,” said Stefan Oelrich, member of the board of management and president of the pharmaceuticals division of Bayer.
“China continues to flourish. With the Healthy China 2030 initiative, the government has put a clear focus on the health of Chinese citizens, which translates into a push for innovation in China,” Oelrich said during a recent visit to China, his first since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Four years ago, when he took on his current role, Bayer was very Europe-centric, he said. However, over the past few years, the strength of China has been increasingly noticeable.
“As China speeds up approval of novel drugs, Chinese patients are able to get faster access to our innovative treatments. Compared to what is happening in Europe, you can do things much faster and more stringently in China,” Oelrich said.
Since 2009, Bayer has introduced 19 innovative drugs with more than 30 new indications in China, data from the company showed.
“I am really pleased to see how quickly we received the approval for our innovative drugs, and the inclusion of some of them in the country’s National Reimbursement Drug List,” he said.
There were 17 trials ongoing in China in therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, oncology, diagnostic imaging and haematology, he added.
To accelerate the introduction of its innovative medicines to the country, Bayer has been in discussions with the Chinese government. — China Daily/ANN
