China is often touted as a great market for consumer goods. However there exists a great market in China for pharmaceutical and bio-technology products as well. A study recently released by the Ministry of Health provides an indication of the scope of opportunity.
As an example, compared to the 5 year survival rate of 60-70% in western Europe and United states, in China, the 5 year survival rate is about 25%. China has a fairly high number of cancer patients (about 3 million) and thanks to the high rate of pollution, smoking and poor awareness, is adding close to 2 million new cancer patients per year and about 1.5 million patients die of cancer.
The major types of cancers seen in China are (but not limited to) lung cancer, liver cancer, gastric cancer, oesophageal cancer and rectal cancer.
Hurdles remain including ability of the market to pay for some of the expensive drugs. But in terms of opportunities to develop drugs in China, the opportunity is wide open.
