AstraZeneca Set to Buy More Chinese Drugs (China)
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
AstraZeneca has announced it will join the ranks of drug manufacturers choosing to obtain raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients from emerging Asian markets. Over the next three years, the company's Chinese contracts will grow from $10 million to $100 million. AstraZeneca has also announced intentions to enact a similar investment plan in India's drug manufacturing industry. The company's move is part of a larger goal to reduce drug production costs, in an effort to keep business lucrative. The industry's renewed respect for the bottom line comes as the result of fierce generic competition and dwindling global patent protection for brand-name drugs. Still, many companies are daunted by a lack of production safety standards and intellectual property rights in some countries. But the promise of improvements in regulatory conditions are making outsourcing to countries like China and India a hard deal for manufacturers to resist. (Click here for more - May Require Paid Subscription