Research and Markets: China Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2009

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bb5a40/china_pharmaceutic) has announced the addition of the "China Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2009" report to their offering.

“China Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2009”

China Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on China's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

We expect China's US$37.0bn pharmaceutical market to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.16% through to 2013, when combined sales of prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines will have reached US$68.0bn. The key drivers are robust economic growth, a growing communicable disease burden, and increased access to healthcare. China's emerging, but improving, regulatory environment was reinforced by two developments in January 2009. The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has finally banned a dangerous weight loss drug (fenfluramine), and a delegation of regulators took the proactive step and started investigating the distribution of Chinese-made counterfeit medicines in the UK.

Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a big problem in China. As of December 2008, prevalence is the second highest in the world and distribution varies across the vast country. BMI believes that expenditure on tuberculosis control will increase significantly over the medium term, resulting in a sharp decline in the disease burden. Stakeholders that will see upside are manufacturers of certain antiinfectives, diagnostic companies and testing laboratories.

As of December 2008, the Chinese authorities were considering punishing German firm Siemens for giving kickbacks to state officials. Legal documents obtained by the local media show that they paid US$14.4mn to five public hospitals to secure medical equipment contracts with a value of US$295mn. A survey jointly conducted by AC Nielsen and the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP), released in December 2008, revealed that more than 30% of Chinese respondents preferred self-medication when they suffer from minor health problems such as headache, the common cold and indigestion.

The Ministry of Health, the China Licensed Pharmacists' Association and Pfizer jointly started a two-year training programme for 45,000 doctors on January 9 2009 across China in a bid to control the abuse of antibiotics at public hospitals. The programme aims at ensuring effective and economical use of antibiotics.

Companies Mentioned:

• GlaxoSmithKline
• Pfizer
• AstraZeneca
• Merck KGaA
• Sanofi-Aventis
• Novartis
• Roche
• Merck & Co
• Bayer Schering Pharma
• North China Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (NCPC)
• China Biopharmaceuticals Holdings (CBH)
• Hubei Biocause Heilen Pharmaceuticalo
• Aida Pharmaceutical Holdings
• Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical (CSPC)

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bb5a40/china_pharmaceutic