Foreign pharma firms excited about new biz opportunities at CIIE

Many foreign pharmaceutical companies said that they will fully engage in business opportunities at the China International Import Expo, of which the sixth edition will be held in Shanghai in early November, to help accelerate innovation in China.

The CIIE has functioned as a launchpad to debut innovative products and cutting-edge technologies to support the Healthy China initiative for the past five years, and many medical exhibits have received approval for commercial launch in China to benefit Chinese patients as well as affected animals, they said.

German Biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it will present for the first time eight pioneering products and solutions in both human and animal health at this year's CIIE.

"The CIIE stands as a significant platform fostering integration and insight exchange between China and the global markets. Our continuous participation in the CIIE for five years underscores our strong confidence in the Chinese market and reinforces our commitment to align with China's new paradigm of high-quality development," said Pavol Dobrocky, president and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim China.

"We look forward to leveraging the CIIE to expedite the introduction of our cutting-edge global products, solutions and visionary ideas in China," he said.

For human pharmaceuticals, the company will present innovative products for rare skin diseases, obesity, pulmonary fibrosis, mental health and cancer.

In May, Spevigo, a monoclonal antibody medication for treating rare skin diseases, filed for a new indication — the prevention of generalized pustular psoriasis. It is the first new drug with simultaneous research and development, and new drug application ahead of global markets, an unprecedented move in the industry.

Over the past years, the company has debuted nearly 30 innovative products and solutions at the CIIE. For example, the first-of-its-kind swine respiratory disease monitoring tool SoundTalks was globally launched as a concept product at CIIE 2019. Last year, it went into full commercial production, helping the swine farming industry in reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Over the next five years, Boehringer Ingelheim plans to invest over 4 billion yuan ($547 million) in R&D in China. The company aims to achieve more than 30 new medical approvals in human pharmaceuticals by 2029. In the next five years, more than 15 new products and indications in animal health are expected to be approved in China.

After its debut at last year's CIIE, Israel-based global pharmaceutical company Teva, which said that the CIIE is a perfect window to showcase innovative medicines, will also join this year's expo.

Among them, there will be an innovative therapy that is only injected once every three months to treat migraines, which may help improve convenience and patient compliance. The company will also bring its first health consumption goods to China at the expo.

Having signed up to participate in the CIIE next year, Teva said it will take advantage of the CIIE to deepen its diversified business layout in the country to better benefit patients.

An exhibitor at the CIIE since its first edition, United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said that the CIIE is not only a platform to bring innovative medical products and industrial ecological systems into China, but also to promote China's innovations to the world.

The strategic layout of AstraZeneca's global R&D center will be exhibited at the company's 1,000-square-meter booth. There are currently more than 180 projects in its China R&D pipeline, and 100 percent of the key R&D projects are synchronized with the world.

The company said it plans to introduce at least 15 new drugs in China within five years and about 80 new drugs or indications are expected to be approved.

The company will also showcase at the CIIE its measures and results of increasing investment at its three production and supply bases in China. The three bases in Wuxi and Taizhou, Jiangsu province, and Qingdao, Shandong province, have delivered medicines to about 70 markets around the world — global demonstrations of smart, zero-carbon factories.