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China biotech's 'coming-out party' masks long road ahead as innovation still lacking

An under-developed academic ecosystem and a preoccupation with generic drugs are also obstacles

Fri, Oct 20, 2017 - 5:50 AM

China contributes just 4% of global drug innovation - as measured by the number of products in development and recent launches - against 50% from the United States, according to an October 2016 report from four Chinese pharmaceutical associations.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Shanghai

INVESTORS are betting on China's potential to feed the global pharmaceutical pipeline, putting a multibillion-dollar price tag on a handful of stocks, even as the country struggles to close a huge R&D gap with the West.

Shares in firms such as Chi-Med, Beigene and Zai...