Alex Gorsky

chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson

A1:

J&J has had the privilege and the opportunity to serve patients in the Chinese mainland for 30 years. We are increasing our investments in China to meet the rising demand of healthcare in China and the Asia-Pacific region, driven by an aging population, growing middle class, and urbanization. Our recent investments include the Asia-Pacific Innovation Center in Shanghai, the J&J Global Lung Cancer Research Center, and a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical plant in Xi'an.

A2:

We believe that the currency rate is only one component of the business strategy. Making sure that we understand the science, the overall marketplace and unmet needs; putting all those things in the balance, we think, is what that makes us remain very competitive.

A3:

We appreciate the Chinese government's effort to build a more transparent business environment and in fostering a robust innovation ecosystem in life sciences. This includes activities to strengthen market access, talent, and policy support.

A4:

We applaud the recent opinion issued by the State Council, promising to expedite the drug approval process. This will help address the critical unmet medical needs of patients in China. The greatest challenge we face is the overwhelming number of unmet medical needs. However there are also many opportunities to push innovation forward. We want to build an innovation ecosystem in China that develops applicable solutions to improve healthcare.

A5:

Acquiring deep consumer and customer insights and developing a comprehensive perspective in business operations will be key to success. We have already seen global companies hone these capabilities in the Chinese market.

As Chinese companies expand their footprint in the global market, Chinese business leaders will also need to focus on and enhance these same skills. To do so they will need to step outside of their home-grown market experience, adopt a comprehensive perspective, and develop their capabilities as global leaders.