2022 China Pharmaceutical Innovation Series (1): Moving against the wind

In the past decade, China's pharmaceutical innovation has experienced unprecedented development
in terms of quantity, speed and quality.
Chinese medicine is rising
rapidly on the world's innovation stage.
However, in recent months, the global situation has changed - soaring inflation in Europe and the United States, continuous interest rate hikes, international geopolitical tensions.
.
.
Macro factors have accelerated the ebb of global investment in emerging technologies, broken capital chains of many pharmaceutical companies, and stagnated clinical trials.
At the same time, Chinese pharmaceutical companies are facing a series of uncertainties
such as local policies, talents, regulations, and funding.
Pharmaceutical innovation faces unprecedented challenges
, both globally and in China.

In 2020, we analyzed the "three steps" of China's pharmaceutical innovation, what happened to China's pharmaceutical innovation two years later? In the current environment, how will Chinese pharmaceutical companies continue to drive innovation? Is it possible for Chinese medicine to turn the turbulent macro situation into an opportunity for self-development?

In 2022, BCG's China Pharmaceutical Innovation Task Force once again launched the China Pharmaceutical Innovation Series
.
This article is the opening work: review the history and summarize the experience of pharmaceutical innovation in the past economic downcycle; Based on the present, interpret the impact of the macro situation on China's pharmaceutical innovation; Looking ahead, we will discuss how Chinese pharmaceutical companies will move against the wind and turn challenges into opportunities
.

We hope that this series of articles will shed light on
participants in China's pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem.