Chinese pharmaceutical companies, motivated by the premium placed on globally patented technologies by potential investors, are scrambling to apply for intellectual property protection in global markets, according to industry insiders. "Compared to the situation a decade ago, it should be obvious that Chinese pharmaceutical companies are much more aware of the importance of patents to protect their technologies, domestically and even globally, and also of the importance of not infringing on others' [patents]," said Woody Wu, an investment manager with Mingly China Growth Fund. More details...

Eastern China's Yangtze River Delta is expected to host the single largest cluster of contract research organizations (CRO) by the year 2015, according to an industry insider at the BioBay Investor Forum 2008 in Suzhou on Aug. 28. "By 2015, China will be ahead of India in chemistry research and development even though India's drug manufacturing sector is stronger than China's. I think the largest cluster of CRO activities in the world will converge in the Yangtze River Delta, comprising Shanghai and Suzhou cities," said Kewen Jin, chief executive officer of Charles River Laboratories Preclinical Services-China . More details...

Stock Symbols: (NYSE: CRL) (NYSE: WX) (OTC Pink Sheets: RHHBY)(NYSE: NVS) (NYSE: AZN) (NYSE: GSK) (NYSE: LLY) (NYSE: JNJ) (NYSE: PFE) (NYSE: ABT) (NYSE: SNY)

The market for hepatitis B drugs in China is expected to grow 135% by 2012, according to a new report from Decision Resources. From $340 million in 2007, sales of hepatitis B treatments will increase to $800 million over the five years, a CAGR of 18%. Part of the reason behind the high dollar value of drugs for this population is that the nucleoside/nucleotide analogue class of drugs often used to treat the disease must be given long term, often for the rest of a patient’s life. More details...

Stock Symbols: (NYSE: BMY) (VX: ROG) (NYSE: SGP) (NYSE: GSK)

CMOs step in when pharmaceutical companies opt to outsource their manufacturing process in order to improve efficiency and productivity. Usually, this step can prove vital in slashing the costs of small to medium-sized companies, especially those that focus on biological or biotechnological R & D. However, investing in CMOs is associated with several risks, according to pharmaceutical industry experts at the ChinaBio® Investor Forum 2008, held in Shanghai last week. More details...

The caliber of the management team is a key consideration when deciding which pharmaceutical company to invest in, venture capitalists said at an industry forum held in Shanghai on July 7 and July 8. In recent years, China's pharmaceutical industry has emerged to become one of the biggest targets for both domestic and foreign venture capitalists, who are now a little more investment savvy. "Whenever we look at a pharmaceutical company, we always pay close attention to the management team first," said Kevin Li, partner at HBM BioMed China Ltd., at the ChinaBio® Investor Forum 2008 in Shanghai. More details...

Six patients, each of whom had been given human immunoglobulin from a specific batch manufactured by Jiangxi Yabo Bio-pharmaceutical, died in the few days following May 22.  Although drug-caused death seems a familiar story, the one had a new twist: the SFDA was very quick to follow up, identify the likely cause, and remove the remaining examples of the batch from the supply chain.  More details...

The FDA and Baxter International announced today that a heparin-like molecule found in Baxter’s supplies of heparin may be the culprit in the recent wave of heparin-caused side effects. Baxter, which produces half of the US supply of heparin, has recalled all of its heparin products. Between 5% and 20% of the raw material sampled seemed to be contaminated. The brouhaha has caused a call for more and better FDA inspections of foreign-sourced drugs and APIs, but that may be difficult to achieve.  More details...

Stock Symbol: (NYSE: BAX)

In 2008, there will be more joint venture deals done, but M&A has peaked – that’s the word from KPMG in the UK (sourced by Thomson Financial). Their report described the situation around the world and included all industries. The Asia-Pacific sector, where investment remains on the upswing, is not following the general trend. The increasing use of JVs worldwide is interesting for followers of China biotech since a JV is so often the structure of choice for biopharmas investing in China. KPMG's reasoning derives partly from an analysis of past data, but it also follows the dictates of logic. In the financial world, lending standards are tightening as lenders demand greater premiums for risk. That cuts into M&A and private equity deals. Still, businesses must do something to create growth, and JVs provide a low-risk, low-investment vehicle to accomplish this. More details...

For the readers of ChinaBio® Today, stories about the astonishing growth of China’s pharmaceutical industry are not news. Nevertheless, two articles have appeared this week that underscore just how large this phenomenon is. The Washington Post ran a story that was not specific for biopharma, but talked about the growing number of returnees.  A cover story from Chemical & Engineering News discusses in detail the China CRO situation, providing a lot of color behind the headline statistics. More details...

Stock Symbol: (NYSE: WX) 

A survey conducted among industry insiders picks China as the ex-US country likely to pocket the most in VC dollars over the course of 2008. In terms of industries, 15% of the respondents said biopharma would be the recipient of the largest amount of new investments. That was good for a solid second place, as 24% of those surveyed predicted that greentech/cleantech would garner the top industry spot. The respondents also noted a deep-seated change in venture capital investing, as the sector increasingly sees private equity funds active in the space. More details...