SHANGHAI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Global biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca is upbeat about the Chinese market's growth and will step up investment, innovation and partnership in the increasingly open market, its Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said.
"I am very optimistic about the growth of the Chinese market," Soriot told Xinhua in a written interview.
China has become the Cambridge-based firm's second-largest market and a major growth engine for its global business, he said. To date, AstraZeneca has invested more than 1 billion U.S. dollars and generated over 15.5 billion dollars in import value in China.
As a country with a large population, China still has huge unmet medical needs and market opportunities. AstraZeneca is pleased to see that China has raised healthcare to a prioritized status among its national strategies, and the country's enhanced efforts to encourage cooperation, improve local R&D capabilities and promote smart healthcare have expanded the market space for companies to explore healthcare innovations and meet the rising demand of patients, he said.
Soriot observed that the investment environment in China has become increasingly open, and the business environment continues to improve. "With further opening-up, deeper integration and greater development firmly in mind, China will continue attracting the attention of multinational companies and serve as a major global driver for various industries."
This is the second time for AstraZeneca to attend the China International Import Expo, which, in Soriot's eyes, reflects China's long commitment to the global economy, and provides multinational companies with significant opportunities to introduce their latest products and services to China as well as to expand cooperation.
Since entering China in 1993, AstraZeneca has introduced more than 30 high-quality innovative medicines in China. "We are pleased to see that the Chinese government is taking effective measures to improve the speed of new drug approvals, establishing a green channel for innovative medicines, and accelerating the review for urgently needed therapies," he said.
The company has been investing in building domestic-oriented R&D platforms to promote local innovation, developing new drugs such as roxadustat, China's "global first" innovative drug co-developed by FibroGen and AstraZeneca, for patients with anemia from chronic kidney disease.
Looking forward, about 55 new drugs and indications are expected to be approved in China within five years, according to Soriot.
"We look forward to introducing more of our life-changing medicines and innovative healthcare solutions to Chinese patients, demonstrating our commitment to helping achieve the goal of 'Healthy China 2030' and promoting China's health innovations to other countries and regions," he said.
