biotech in china

Podcast Sponsor: Biotix, Inc. - Free Samples

Guests:

Alex Wu, CEO, Crown Bio, , Bio and Contact Info

Listen (2:52) China as a market growing rapidly

Listen (8:20) Big challenge is to change from low cost producers to innovators

Listen (10:55) What is being done to foster innovation?

Listen (3:32) Government offering resources, country more open

Nigel Beeley, CEO, Enrqi, Inc., Bio and Contact Info

Listen (1:50) CRO's doing more but not drivers of innovation

Listen (2:12) Is innovation happening?

Listen (5:25) Better IP protection and improved regulation

Listen (5:05) Sea Turtles not big risk takers or innovators

Listen (4:45) Working life in China

Listen (3:42) Quality

Listen (8:46) Working with the government

Today we present our second show in a series on the booming life science industry in China. As we mentioned in our first show, the Chinese government is investing billions in the life sciences and has plans to expand basic health coverage to the entire population by 2020. The last 10 years has seen the biotech industry in China come of age from a few CRO’s providing cost cutting advantage to thousands of life science companies struggling to tip the advantage scale from cost cutting to innovation. Is the innovation happening? We ask two guests today.

Alex Wu is the CEO of Crown Biosciences. His company is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA and has two divisions in China. Alex says that Crown Bio’s edge comes from innovation. Nigel Beeley has been working in China since some of the first CRO’s set up shop. He’s seen the business change incredibly and shares his hopes and his skepticisms about biotech in China.

See a recent article by David Ewing Duncan, China: The next biotech superpower?

Podcast Sponsor: Biotix, Inc. - Free Samples

Guests:

Guo-Liang Yu, Ph D, CEO, Epitomics, Bio and Contact Info

Listen (1:54) Why expand into China

Listen (6:15) Bio most popular degree

Listen (2:39) Biggest challenges

Listen (4:41) Biotech in China divides into three periods

Listen (2:58) Is innovation happening?

David Wilson, Senior VP, Advanced Biologix, Bio and Contact Info

Listen (7:29) China Medical City

Listen (2:08) Positives and Negatives

Listen (9:12) China communist, but capitalist

Listen (6:52) Advice to those doing business in China

Our program today is the first in an ongoing series about the incredible growth of biotech in China. According to Fareed Zacharia of Newsweek, China is the big story of the last decade. Their economy has grown around 10 percent a year. Their GDP last year was $4.8 Trillion making China the second-largest economy in the world today. “China cannot develop without developing science and technology,” said Premier Wen Jiabao in late May. “Our future relies on the future of science and technology.”

And biotech is a big part of that future. The government is investing billions in a bio“megaproject," and has plans to expand basic health care coverage to the entire population by 2020. As the middle class grows, so does the demand for pharmaceutical drugs. It’s said that China will be the third largest drug market by 2013.

There’s also been a major push by the government this last year for innovation. To help in this area, there are government schemes to lure back Chinese scientists working overseas. These returning ex-pats, or sea turtles as they’re known, are expected to bring innovation to Chinese biotech and move it beyond just a cheap place to manufacture.

See a recent article by David Ewing Duncan, China: The next biotech superpower?