Mehta Analysis: China, A Populist Pharma Power

20 Jul 2018

• By Viren Mehta

With money pouring into biopharma in China, and regulatory reforms favoring market growth and R&D speed, western firms should watch their backs, warns Viren Mehta, founding partner of Mehta Partners LLC.

SC1807_Colorful Dragon_690916120_1200.jpg — China's Pharma Dragon Is On Fire

The dollars and renminbi are adding up, as are structural and regulatory changes in China. With the modified IPO listing rules in Hong Kong, China’s momentum as a biopharma leader is accelerating. Even the Trump trade tirade seems to bypass many bold biopharma initiatives in China that have brought this nation into a leadership position in two short decades. (Also see "Can Pharmas Come Out Unscathed As China-US Trade War Escalates?" - Scrip, 11 April, 2018.)

Money talks. And China knows that it has more than most other countries. Biopharma being one of the top 10...