Regulatory support from the Chinese government and growing interest from the investment world have contributed to China’s booming biotech industry, which has continuously been luring talent away from multinational drug companies.
In recent years, many former Chinese executives from the likes of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Sanofi either jumped to domestic biopharmas or struck out on their own. The drivers behind their decisions: higher salary and more room for growth in an entrepreneurial environment, according to the Financial Times.
China has been relying heavily on generics, and that kind of a market left small room for innovation, leaving only a handful of multinationals as the main sources of innovative drugs in the country. Therefore, when the biotech industry does come alive, it’s only natural that it will turn to these global companies for talent.
“The value proposition of local biotechs is clear: they provide an entrepreneurial environment, there is the possibility of future public listing and exciting opportunities in terms of building a business,” Franck Le Deu, a senior partner at McKinsey in Hong Kong, was quoted by FT.
Xiaobin Wu, Ph.D., formerly Pfizer China’s general manager who recently jumped to BeiGene, told FT that at Chinese biotech startups, “the working dynamic is very different and the decision making is fast.”
In 2017, the Chinese biopharma industry received $11.7 billion in venture capital investment, according to ChinaBio. Those handsome financial injections not only went to R&D activities, but also offer a larger pool for executive pay. According to an executive with recruiting firm Hays interviewed by FT, Chinese startups offered 20% higher base salaries than global pharmas.
Here is a nonexhaustive summary of some recent examples of Chinese MNC-to-biotech shifts:
By Angus Liu
Source: Fierce Pharma
Novo Nordisk has announced that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has provided a positive opinion for the company’s Sogroya therapy. The once-weekly treatment – also known as somapacitan – is for the replacement of endogenous growth hormone (GH) in aged children three years and older.
Medtronic is set to acquire EOFlow, the South Korea-based maker of an insulin patch pump. In its announcement of the deal Thursday, Medtronic suggested that integrating the tubeless device with its own continuous glucose monitors and meal-detection algorithm could create a new closed-loop system for largely hands-off diabetes management.
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