It’s not a secret that China is amongst the world’s fastest growing healthcare markets. In terms of expenditure, China is already the second largest healthcare market in the world, with 3.5 trillion USD in 2018.
At the same time, the circumstances created, the resources and the changes that have been made and will be made by the government entities bring a significant boost to the medical innovation and development, here are 3 of them:
Boosting Medical innovation in China
In the last 2 years China has enacted some major medical reforms to boost its Medical industry’s maturity and growth. To improve quality and promote innovation, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved a several reforms:
- Faster approval process for novel high quality drugs and medical device that promise clear clinical benefits (As we describe in other article). Thus, innovative drugs can enjoy a faster inclusion in China’s National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL).
- Since 2017 China has been updating its registration list annually instead of every five years, thus fostering much faster adoption of innovative product. Historically, the majority of the drugs in the NRDL have been generic drugs but increasing numbers of innovative drugs are now also being included.
Population ageing
According to an officials reports, over-65 population was reported at 11.47% in 2019 And this number is expected to rise more than double (310 million) by 2050.
“This will demand reform in China’s healthcare system and improved access to affordable quality drugs, particularly those able to combat the chronic diseases associated with ageing”, a recent China healthcare white paper by asset management firm Value Partners says.
In 2016, the Chinese government announced the Healthy China 2030 plan, a national policy to address the country’s long-term health-care challenges. The policy includes a range of interventions to promote health in elderly people, such as encouraging a balanced diet and better fitness, and discouraging smoking. A large part of the changes will affect the 3 coming years.
Research & Developed
China also grows more important as a strategic R&D hub in healthcare. According to SCMP China Healthcare Report, China’s combined pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical R&D spending is forecasted to grow at a 23 percent compound annual rate until 2023, reaching more than 48 billion USD.
Moreover, accelerating adoption of technology in healthcare offerings
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic fostered innovation in China’s healthcare sector even more. The virus push the need of results in short time, as example combination of AI in CT, diagnostic tools and vaccines research & Development.
One of the important conclusions of 2020 is: The public health is a top priority.
The public health resources & budgets of 2021 and the following years will increase significantly both to combat the existing epidemic and to prevent or minimize the next health event as much as possible.
