Mr Wang Yong, a medical representative from a Shijiazhuang, Hebei province pharmaceutical company said the competition in the domestic drug market is becoming more intense, as there are even as many as a dozen brand names for a group of medicines consisting of the same ingredients. In addition to the challenges from domestic rivals, of even greater concern is competition and pressure from overseas pharmaceutical majors.

Shanghai Second Military Medical University’s Professor Yuan Junhui stated that there is still a big gap between domestic generic drugs and the international advanced medicines in terms of active ingredients, excipients, new technologies and innovative formulations. Taking aspirin as an example, there are dozens of dosage forms for different diseases in the United States, while the tablet is the only common dosage form in China.

China’s generic drug market is on target to further expand as competition intensifies. As patent protection for brand drugs from the world's pioneering pharmaceutical companies expire, generic drugs will immediately inherit the advantages. However, the development of new drugs in China still faces bottlenecks; as a result, the production of generic drugs remains an important part of the innovation strategy for Chinese makers.

In addition, favourable pharmaceutical policies put in place by governments the world over are expected to lower drug prices, which will broaden the demand for generics and further drive the development of the industry.

In China, the government’s medical reform plan focusing on improving healthcare areas across the country is laying the foundation for the boom in the generic drug market.

Reference:
Cindy Wu. Competition in China’s generic drug market intensifies. Asia Manufacturing Pharma. 2009 Sep 9.