Merck: Growing spending and innovation underpin China’s pharma market

Although the Chinese economy is under downturn pressure, Merck Group, which is a leader in healthcare, life science and performance material, is “upbeat the growth in China,” Stefan Oschmann, CEO of the group told CGTN in an interview on the sidelines of the China Development Forum (CDF).

In the sectors Merck operates in, “we don't see any downturn,” he said.

Looking back to the past 40 years, never before in history have more people had access to quality healthcare faster than in China during these years, he said. He noted that this is a major achievement and China's growing spending on healthcare indicates opportunities for the industry.

In addition to spending, Chinese government is attaching more importance to intellectual property, ultimately hoping to enhance the competitiveness of Chinese companies in the global market, Oschmann said.

For future plans, he said the new trend is co-innovation.

In today's highly digitalized and innovative economy, Merck wants to work with Chinese partners, including academia, startups and corporations. To achieve that, the group has set up several innovation hubs there and two new hubs in preparation in Guangzhou and Shanghai respectively.

In terms of breakthrough in healthcare industry, he said there will be a revolution in cancer research and cancer treatment with progress made in immunotherapy.

(CGTN)