MNCs in fast-changing China; HKEX expects SPAC soon

Multinational companies (MNCs) must evolve their strategies with a fast-paced China to succeed in the highly competitive market, said company representatives at the two-day 2021 China healthcare investment conference on March 24 in Shanghai.

Regulation changes deserve top priority for MNCs, said the general manager of Sanofi (Euronext; SAN) China, Pius Hornstein. “Speeding up your R&D process is not enough. you have to build a top-class regulatory team to be able to speed up the process,” he said.

He gave Dupixent (dupilumab) as an example. The eczema treatment was added to China’s national reimbursement drug list (NRDL) in January 2021, five months after it was approved in the country. In contrast, it takes about 17 months on average for a newly approved drug to get into the list.