This Day, That Year

Item from Sept 18, 1997, in China Daily: China has become the second-largest producer of pharmaceutical raw materials in the world, according to industry officials. One of the organizers of a major pharmaceutical exhibition that opened on Wednesday in Beijing said raw materials exported from China have become more popular with foreign pharmaceutical companies.

The country’s medicine market has expanded rapidly along with strong economic growth — and an aging population. China has become the world’s secondlargest consumer of pharmaceutical products and the largest exporter of bulk drugs.

With nearly 5,000 companies in the sector, the Chinese market has been estimated at more than 2.5 trillion yuan ($382 billion) for 2016. About 50 pharmaceutical companies passed certification or inspection standards for Europe and the United States.

In 2015, pharmacologist Tu Youyou became China’s first Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine for her work showing the anti-malaria effects of artemisinin, long used in traditional Chinese medicine. The discovery added momentum to traditional Chinese medicine worldwide. TCM has spread to 183 countries and regions, according to a report released by the State Council, China’s Cabinet.

While Chinese medical techniques and products are winning global recognition,

Western players, such as US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and AstraZeneca of the UK, have been bolstering their presence in China. Last year, Pfizer announced a plan to invest $350 million in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for the manufacture of biotechnology drugs. The new facility is expected to be completed next year and will manufacture biologics, or complex medicines made from living organisms, as well as biosimilars for patients in China and around the world.