Posted by Michael Wonder on 04 Jun 2019
China’s revolutionary cancer drugs undercut American competitors
4 June 2019 - One way to realise Beijing’s dreams of a world-class pharmaceutical industry: low prices.
Western companies last year began selling some of their hottest cancer drugs, called PD-1 inhibitors, with much fanfare in China. But rather than quickly conquering the mainland market, American drugmakers Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb have found themselves facing a surprising challenge: local competitors. Chinese companies are introducing patented cancer therapies in their home market based on PD-1 inhibitors, which use the body’s immune system to fight tumours.
They’re doing it at far lower prices—sometimes a third of what U.S. drug makers charge—which will likely give them a leg up at home. And their ambitions go far beyond the mainland, with several already preparing to sell their medicines in the U.S. and worldwide.
