Multinational pharmaceutical companies actively embrace the introduction of innovative business models in exchange for price

After more than 40 years of reform and opening up, foreign pharmaceutical companies entering or returning to China have also ushered in an important moment of their 40th anniversary
.
For a long time, foreign companies have promoted the development of China's modern pharmaceutical industry with their strong capital, advanced technology, high-quality products and efficient management, and are also the ideal career starting point for many young people
.
In recent years, with the reform of policies and regulations and the rapid rise of local power, foreign companies are facing more competition in China, and their days are not as bright as they used to be
.
In order to adapt to changes in the environment, foreign companies are also constantly innovating and striving to maintain their long-term dominant position
.
Attractiveness declines, and talent flows to local companies Once upon a time, the halo of foreign companies attracted many talents to join
in.
However, as feng shui turns, the natural gap between foreign companies and local companies has gradually been bridged
.
Under the environment of capital boosting local innovation, the salaries offered by local companies are already comparable to those of foreign companies, and even more attractive
.
In particular, start-up companies can grant employees certain stock options, so that employees are expected to achieve financial freedom through corporate IPOs, which is difficult for foreign companies to achieve
.
Because many entrepreneurial teams have received training from foreign companies, they also strive for a clean and bright working environment, whether it is a high-end office building or a factory laboratory
.
More importantly, the huge organization of foreign companies has caused many negative factors, including overstaffing, office politics, internal resource grabbing, compliance and high pressure restrictions, etc.
, making many people shy away
.
On the contrary, many innovative enterprises start from scratch, with simple levels, focus on results, and more flexible working methods.
More importantly, the new platform provides a broad space for talents to realize their self-worth, which makes it easy to attract professional elites with a spirit of struggle
.
With the accumulation of time, innovative projects have entered the harvest period, and talents at the back end of the industry chain, including production supply, quality management, and even commercial promotion, are also favored by emerging companies.

.
Until recent years, the innovation and development of local enterprises has reached a certain scale.
To achieve a higher development space, all-round senior management talents are urgently needed
.
In 2021, executives of foreign companies choose to join local companies to usher in a new climax
.
In particular, AstraZeneca ushered in a wave of executives leaving, and many people joined local companies such as Luoxin Pharmaceutical, Junshi Bio, and BeiGene
.
Although AstraZeneca's structural adjustment due to the pressure of performance growth is one reason, but more importantly, local companies already have enough strength, whether it is salary or room to play, it is enough to attract foreign executives
.
In fact, this trend started when Wu Xiaobin, general manager of Pfizer China, joined BeiGene in 2018
.
In 2019, Wu Qingyi, Vice President of Sanofi China Specialty Pharmaceuticals Division, joined BeiGene as Chief Commercial Officer of Greater China
.
In the same year, Zhang Wenjie, general manager of Amgen China, joined Henlius as senior vice president and chief commercial operation officer, and has been promoted to CEO of Henlius
.
In 2020, Mu Yanping, the managing director of Merck China Oncology Division, joined Alice Pharma as the general manager
.
This year, Luo Yongqing, general manager of Gilead China, joined Tengshengbo Pharmaceuticals as president and general manager of Greater China.
The new crown neutralizing antibody he led jointly developed with Tsinghua University and Shenzhen Third People's Hospital has been approved for listing in China
.
The list goes on and
on.
The decline of talent competition will continue to the disadvantage at all levels
.
This tests how foreign companies can maintain their attractiveness to talents, so that they can confidently respond to the rise of local companies
.
Lower your profile and actively embrace price-for-volume China's healthcare reform is a topic with a long history, and it is now in deep water
.
Policies such as volume-based procurement, medical insurance negotiation, and the two-invoice system have profoundly affected the Chinese pharmaceutical market
.
Foreign enterprises must also conform to the trend and actively transform
.
In the past, even after the patent expired, the original research drug still enjoyed high prices and made a lot of money
.
With the full implementation of the consistency evaluation of generic drugs, the efficacy and quality of generic drugs have been equal to the original drugs
.
Centralized procurement with volume does not discriminate between original research drugs and generic drugs.
Foreign companies have lost their market share from the arrogant attitude of not cutting prices at first.
Now they also accept the reality and actively reduce prices to participate in centralized procurement
.
The degree of participation of foreign companies has increased significantly, and the decline is also full of sincerity
.
Originally developed new drugs have always been priced at high prices, making it unbearable for ordinary people.
On the premise of basic medical insurance funds, it is difficult to include most new drugs
.
In order to enable new drugs to benefit the vast number of patients as soon as possible, the state initiated the new drug medical insurance negotiation, in exchange for China's huge market in exchange for a substantial price reduction of new drugs, so that both medical insurance and patients can afford it, and it can also help pharmaceutical companies to achieve rapid sales
.
Through volume procurement and medical insurance negotiation, foreign companies will benefit Chinese patients with more and more advanced innovative drugs.
At the same time, under the huge dividend of China's pharmaceutical market, they also promote the rapid increase in the volume of innovative drugs
.
As a result, foreign companies are forced to accelerate the research and development of new products and enter China
.
Today, centralized procurement and medical insurance negotiations have formed a normalized mechanism
.
Although "soul bargaining" is often seen in the news media, in general, all parties like it
.
However, for foreign companies, they also have to face a huge challenge, which is the price system that needs to balance the global market
.
On the other hand, with the improvement of China's domestic new drug research and development level, some drugs have the ability to directly impact foreign companies, such as the PD-1 drug that is talked about in the industry.
The number of local new drugs has far exceeded imported products.
There is an unparalleled advantage in price
.
For rare disease drugs, the sky-high prices have gradually disappeared, bringing real hope to the majority of patients
.
The most typical example is that in the medical insurance negotiation in 2021, the price of Nosinasheng sodium has been reduced from "700,000 yuan per injection" when it first entered China to about 100,000 yuan a year at its own expense, which is affordable for most families.

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Adjust asset allocation and introduce innovative business models Gradually abandoning non-core and less competitive assets is a consistent operation method used by foreign companies
.
In recent years, the assets of foreign companies in China have also been sold frequently from the original non-sale products
.
In 2021, two foreign pharmaceutical companies in Hangzhou will be acquired by local companies: WuXi Biologics acquired Pfizer's Hangzhou Biopharmaceutical Plant, while Jiuzhou Pharmaceuticals acquired Teva's Hangzhou Plant
.
As early as 2019, Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical also acquired the Novartis Suzhou factory
.
In fact, it is not just factories, foreign companies have also transferred some former star products to Chinese companies
.
In 2019, Eddingpharm bought the Chinese rights to two antibiotic products of Eli Lilly and the Suzhou plant
.
In 2020, Takeda Pharma transferred the Chinese rights and interests of five cardiovascular and metabolic products to Hessen Biologics
.
Of course, in addition to divesting factories and products one after another in China, foreign companies have also successively disposed of R&D centers, including Abbott, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca,
etc.
However, this does not mean that foreign companies give up their innovative layout in China, but choose another business model to support innovative R&D with local characteristics
.
Cooperative development is the beginning of foreign companies' acceptance of local R&D
.
China's innovative drugs are in full swing, and they have gradually begun to enter the eyes of foreign companies.
Earlier, Hutchison Whampoa cooperated with Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca to develop innovative oncology drugs in China, and Bayer also introduced Hualing's hypoglycemic drugs.

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In addition, foreign companies are not only interested in China's domestic rights and interests, but also eager to try their overseas rights and interests to help Chinese innovative drugs go overseas
.
The most typical example is that many PD-1 drugs in China have granted overseas rights to foreign companies, including major foreign companies such as Eli Lilly and Novartis
.
Innovation incubation is a more forward-looking and flexible business model
.
Find technology platforms and innovative products that conform to the company's strategy through the selection of innovation competitions, and provide entrepreneurial teams with certain funds, venues, technology and management support to help them complete the proof of concept.
can
.
Today, such models have blossomed everywhere in China: Johnson & Johnson’s JLab, Novo Nordisk’s INNOVO, Merck’s Innovation Center Accelerator, Boehringer Ingelheim Innovation Competition, Leo Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, Roche China Accelerator, and AstraZeneca CICC Global Medical Industry Fund,
etc.
Divesting thin dog assets and opening up innovative business models, foreign companies are also accelerating their integration with China’s local industry trends, using global resources to attract future potential technology platforms, which have won wide acclaim
.
Digital technology promotes the integration of doctors and patients and improves business efficiency.
With the continuous development of Internet technology, the younger generation of doctors are pursuing personalization and a higher sense of achievement while delving into medical research and scientific research
.
At the same time, patients and their families are getting more and better medical information and resources through various channels
.
Under the high pressure of compliance, pharmaceutical companies also need more efficient and beneficial ways to disseminate product knowledge
.
Digitization is undoubtedly an ideal choice
.
Today, foreign companies have adopted digitalization as a new business model and raised it to a strategic level
.
Emerging concepts such as digital medical care, Internet hospitals, online diagnosis and treatment, and short video live interaction have appeared one after another
.
Using these platforms, foreign companies can help doctors create expert personnel, so as to obtain more patients, and even patients from other places come here.
higher pursuit
.
In this process, foreign companies can increase the stickiness with doctors and experts and enhance their brand image
.
For patients, with a more convenient doctor-patient education platform, they can also choose a suitable doctor according to their own situation, bringing more opportunities and hope for cure
.
Although the huge market of many ace products has shrunk after centralized procurement, Sanofi has taken the lead in the construction of the digital ecosystem and has held the "Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit" for three consecutive years, forming a digital innovation atmosphere in line with the company's business strategy.
It is worth learning from peers
.
AstraZeneca's medical artificial intelligence innovation laboratory AI iLab will also be officially put into operation in 2021
.
However, after all, medical treatment is a special business activity, and medicine is a special commodity.
Therefore, the implementation of digital technology in the medical field must follow stricter regulations to avoid going astray
.
Rooted in China, driven by innovation The rise of local innovation is a competitive pressure for foreign companies, but it also helps foreign companies to take root in China and achieve deep integration with the Chinese market
.
No matter how the Chinese pharmaceutical market changes, if foreign companies want to realize value in China, they must firmly grasp the medical needs of Chinese patients, and at the same time use global resources to promote local innovation, so as to maintain their leading position in the Chinese market
.