China’s pharma product demand to grow by 25% every year

And emerging economies will account for 50% of global growth in demand to 2015.

According to a release, with emerging economies and developing countries having plenty of catching up to do in the area of healthcare, they will account for 50% of global growth in pharmaceutical product demand up 2015.

China, the largest market, is forecast to grow by about 25% per year. The latest sustainability study from Bank Sarasin, "Emergency – Healthcare in Emerging Markets", highlights two factors that are improving the situation in emerging markets: an expanding middle class who can afford to spend more on healthcare, and higher levels of government investment in public health services. Innovative local providers, such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) company China Shineway and Indian generics manufacturer Dr. Reddy’s, will be the principal beneficiaries.

Healthcare can be improved through the combined efforts of the state, the private sector and consumers. Linking the themes of emerging markets and healthcare makes sense in terms of sustainable investments: investment opportunities and social benefits go hand-in-hand. Improving healthcare in developing and emerging market countries is a key objective of sustainable development, with different countries facing specific challenges. For example, China, due to its one-child policy, faces an aging population with the number of elderly increasing dramatically while population growth has fallen sharply.

Increasing affluence and increasing age present China with a rise in lifestyle diseases. One in 10 people in China now has diabetes – the same level as in the US. The number is similar in urban India, but is 3% in rural areas. This equates to 40 million diabetics in India, the most in the world. Obesity is one cause, with some emerging market economies approaching or surpassing levels of childhood obesity (under five years of age) in the US. Indonesia, for example, has a childhood obesity rate of 11%, while Thailand’s has reached 8% (latest available year, 2006/07).