Access China Management Consulting Ltd | Region China | July 2014
China is one of the fastest growing global economies with a fifth population in the world, and is one of the largest healthcare markets around the world. Along with sustained economic and population growth as well as an aging population, Chinese healthcare market has maintained annually average growth rate above 16 % since 1990s. By 2013, total value of drugs on Chinese healthcare market has reached RMB 1114 billion. On the Chinese healthcare market, imported drugs made by overseas and multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers account for about one fourth. It is estimated that total value of drugs on Chinese healthcare market will be likely to be more than RMB 1450 billion by 2015, and will surpass Japan to become the second largest drug market following the United States.
The Chinese healthcare market will attract more and more overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers to penetrate such market. Many overseas and multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers are ardently conducting clinical trials for their drugs in China to seize a larger part of such drug market. However, the Chinese approach to GCP compliance is unique, from the application and approval process, the requirements for ethics committees, sponsors and investigators to the application dossiers. To enter such a lucrative drug market, overseas and multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers must have a comprehensive and thorough knowledge of the latest Chinese regulations on clinical trials. Otherwise, the restrictive legal requirements and approval delays eat up your development time and budget.