This year will be a watershed for pharmaceuticals, and the sector is moving
in a positive direction after intensive regulation in the past year, an industry
figure said yesterday.
James Deng, president and CEO of Beijing Novartis
Pharma Ltd, the highest-ranking Chinese in the top multinational drug maker,
said yesterday that the Chinese government's decision to reveal its healthcare
system reform plan within the year will create a clear and orderly environment
for the industry.
Last year, China launched a massive campaign to curb
the rising trend of healthcare service bills and to stop corruption in the
industry, which even saw the State Food and Drug Administration chief under
investigation as well as many officials, doctors and sales representatives of
pharmaceutical companies.
But the ongoing campaign affected drug makers'
sales. Last year, China's pharmaceutical industry grew by almost 18 percent to
532 billion yuan, compared to 70 percent annual growth in 2005.
The
campaign also had an impact on Novartis, the fifth-largest drug maker in the
world. Novartis grew by 6 percent to 2.13 billion in 2006.
Beijing
Novartis Pharma, the flagship subsidiary of Novartis in China, booked revenue of
1.8 billion yuan, ranking it fourth among the foreign pharmaceutical firms in
the market.
But with an improving market environment, Jeffery Li,
president of Novartis China, said his company would aim for growth of around 20
percent this year.
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