China entered the world pharmaceuticals market as a major supplier of bulk drugs in the nineties with lower prices and in direct competition with India. The country is today a major supplier of bulk drugs to formulation producers worldwide.

With the medical and healthcare industry expected to be fast growing in China, the country will remain largest pharmaceuticals market in Asia after Japan, according to a recent report by Cygnus Business Consulting & Research.

China is ahead of many countries with the establishment of Gene Valley in Shanghai which is also expected to boost biotech research. The problem of counterfeit drugs is still a major concern to the industry and the country, which is growing at epidemic proportions.

The major therapeutic segments in China are anti-infectives, anti-virals, anti-tuberculosis, anti-malarial, anti-respiratory, anti-pyretics, measles and hepatitis. China has about 8.4 lakh persons infected with HIV as of 2003. Of them, only 62,159 persons have been tested and officially confirmed to be HIV positive. The remaining persons were not known to public health authorities.

China has become the second largest producer of pharma ingredients in the world with an annual output of 80,000 tons. It annually produces about 28,000 tons of penicillin (60 per cent of the global production), about 98,000 tons of vitamin C (of which 54,000 tons are sold in overseas markets, and 10,000 tons of terramycin, the report stated.