Global pharmaceutical companies posted mixed earnings in China last year, with some firms warning that 2026 will be another tough year as Beijing pushes for affordable healthcare through price bargains.
Multinational corporations (MNCs) with innovative drug pipelines and the ability to quickly address unmet medical needs were expected to outperform rivals relying on mature and off-patent products this year, according to Bruce Liu, senior partner at global consulting firm Simon-Kucher.
His comments come as Beijing sharpens its focus on biotech. At last month’s annual legislative meetings, the government named biomedicine as a new engine of economic growth, along with measures to support innovative drug development.Getting on China’s national reimbursement drug list (NRDL) – the state insurance scheme that swaps deep discounts for big volume – was “typically positive for innovative therapies”, said Liu. While companies had to accept significant price reductions, the expanded market volume “unlocked by listing more than makes up for the cut”, he added.
AstraZeneca’s China sales grew 4 per cent year on year to about US$6.4 billion in 2025. Photo: AFPAt the same time, the volume-based procurement scheme (VoBP) for mature off-patent products, under which the government buys drugs in bulk for public hospitals, had put MNCs under intense price and competitive pressure, according to Liu.