For years now Big Pharma companies have been pouring billions into ambitious new research efforts in China, anxious to capitalize on one of the world's most tantalizing emerging markets. Now Pfizer ($PFE) officials are indicating that they plan to follow up with new collaborations in research and marketing with Chinese partners as they ally themselves with a new generation of Chinese companies.
"We're open for collaboration," Wu Xiaobing, Pfizer's chief in China, tells Dow Jones. "If we were alone, it would take such a long time to make our drugs accessible to patients."
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| Wu Xiaobing, Pfizer's top official in China |
Pfizer, of course, isn't the only Big Pharma company to seek out new alliances. China has invested heavily in the industry, looking for rapid growth as more home grown drugs are developed for the country's 1.3 billion citizens. And multinationals looking to quickly extend their operations will gain far greater cooperation from the country's regulators if they are teamed with local companies.
"You can expect to see more momentum going forward," says Jin Wang, a Shanghai-based partner at McKinsey & Co. "Both multinationals and locals are excited by the growth potential in this market, and they are all facing limitations in terms of their portfolio and capabilities, so they're teaming up."
- here's the story from Dow Jones
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