Multinationals Return To Growth In China In First Half

New Drugs More Than Offset VBP Impact

AZ and Novo Nordisk reported sales growth from innovative new drugs in China, despite the lingering impact of the country's volume-based procurement scheme. Meanwhile, Novartis, Sanofi and Roche saw gains for new antibody and cancer drugs, along with solid vaccine sales.

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Multinational drug makers return to growth in first half of 2023

AstraZeneca PLC, which is more reliant on the Chinese market than its multinational peers in terms of share of China-derived revenue within the total, sees its China business as on track for a return to growth, despite price reductions resulting from the country’s drug price negotiation since March.

In the first half ended 30 June, the UK-based major’s China sales rose 7% year-over-year to $3.0bn, accounting for 14% of total revenue. The company raised its guidance for full-year...

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