Bayer said on Tuesday that its pharmaceutical business in China posted sales of about 1.8 billion euros ($1.91 billion) in 2016, up about 10 percent - which outpaced the growth of the Chinese market.
The company attributed the rise to its efforts in providing treatment and solutions to chronic disease management, while aligning its innovation expertise with the medical needs of the region, it said in a note sent to the Global Times.
More than 260 million people in China have been diagnosed with chronic diseases, according to a report released by National Health and Family Planning Commission in 2016. According to statistics, about 10,000 patients are diagnosed with cancer every day, or seven every minute.
In January 2017, the State Council, China's cabinet, released a medium- to long-term plan (2017-25) on the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Specifically, by 2020, premature death of people aged 30 to 70 years from chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes will be reduced 10 percent from 2015. The figure will be decreased 20 percent by 2025.
Bayer said that it plans to increase its overall research and development (R&D) spending to about 4.8 billion euros this year. Last year, it increased its global investment in R&D by 9.2 percent to nearly 4.7 billion euros, of which about 60 percent went to the development of new pharmaceuticals, with a focus on therapeutic areas of cardiology and oncology.
In 2016, Bayer inaugurated the extension program of its Pharmaceuticals Product Supply Beijing Site, making it the largest pharmaceuticals packaging site in its global production network.
