|
|
|
|
Hepatitis in China: Liver let die?
|
(Datamonitor insight into the Chinese Hepatitis B & C market)
19 December, 2006
With one third of CHB patients and one quarter of CHC patients globally, hepatitis is a major health problem in China, and the market has received considerable attention from Western pharmaceutical companies aiming to capitalize on the country's recent economic boom. Many Western pharmaceuticals have Chinese approval, but they have a high price and there is some contention over their effectiveness, therefore Chinese patients should consider these drugs a long-term investment and balance the trade-off between cost, efficacy and long-term liver complications.
Executive Summary
China is undergoing an economic boom, generating 12% of global economic trade, and it is currently the leading recipient of foreign investment. Since 34% of the world's chronic hepatitis B patients and 24% of the world's chronic hepatitis C patients live in China, the Chinese hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) markets have historically represented a significant growth opportunity, with a realistic current valuation of $1.0 billion (HBV) and $0.9 billion (HCV). However, the Chinese healthcare system has been ranked 144th out of 191 by the WHO, prompting it to be denounced as one of the most unfair systems in the world. These problems, together with the inability of many patients to afford these drugs and concerns over their efficacy in Asian patients, are retarding Western pharmaceutical penetration.
Chinese physicians indicated that HBV incidence is decreasing and is set to continue to fall. In contrast to the seven major markets, where most patients acquire HBV sexually, the dominant route of HBV transmission is perinatal transmission, which increases the likelihood of becoming immune tolerant and impacts on HBV disease progression and the effectiveness of drug therapy. In China, physicians do not consider any of the currently available therapies a gold standard, although lamivudine is the most prescribed first-line therapy, while adefovir is the most prescribed second-line therapy.
Chinese physicians indicated that HCV incidence may be increasing. Blood transfusion is though to be the dominant HCV transmission route in China, while in the seven major markets, HCV is mainly acquired through intravenous drug use. The Chinese HCV treatment market is highly fragmented, with treatment differing significantly between regions. For example, in Hong Kong, all HCV patients receive pegylated interferon/ribavirin combination therapy, currently considered the global standard of care. However, across mainland China, unmodified interferons are more commonly prescribed than pegylated interferons, and interferon monotherapy is more frequently used than interferon/ribavirin combination therapy.
Due to the high cost of pharmaceuticals and the cost-conscious nature of the Chinese healthcare system, the hepatitis market faces a number of threats, including TCMs, generic drugs and counterfeit drugs.
Similar to the seven major markets, efficacy is the most important factor driving HBV and HCV pharmaceutical prescription in China, with cost and reimbursement in second place. Interestingly, the side-effect profile ranked third in China, while this factor ranked second in the seven major markets.
Place your order now to receive a full copy of this report
Reasons to buy:
• Review the clinical and commercial factors shaping the uptake of hepatitis products in China, and the opportunities and threats facing the market.
• Gain insight into HBV and HCV prevalence, transmission and coinfection in China.
• Evaluate unmet needs in China's hepatitis market and capitalize on these opportunities to develop commercial strategies to increase market penetration.
Special offer to the BiotechEast community
As part of BiotechEast's program of providing quality and timely information resources that deliver real benefits to your business, we have negotiated an exclusive industry partnership with Datamonitor, to provide significant discounts on reports and databases.
As part of the offer, the BiotechEast subscriber and reader community will be able to purchase reports at a 65% discount on their standard price. Therefore reports with a list price of US$3,400 will now be available for US$1,190. Click for details
To confirm an order at the discounted rates, please send an email to khicks@datamonitor.com stating that you are a BiotechEast subscriber or reader and are based in Taiwan, and the title of the reports/databases you would like to order at the special rate. Alternatively you can call Datamonitor at +61 2 8705 6922 (Karl Hicks), or contact BiotechEast at +886 2 2702 8100 (David Silver).
In order to take advantage of this offer, participants must be current readers or subscribers to BiotechEast. The offer applies only to Taiwan-based companies, institutes or individuals. Its main focus is to provide small to medium sized organisations with affordable access to Datamonitor reports and databases.
Datamonitor reserves the right to review eligibility of all participants.
About Datamonitor
Datamonitor Healthcare provides the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry with syndicated research and analysis, continuous advisory services, and custom consulting projects, to support decision-making throughout the business process.
Drawing on over 15 years of market-leading analysis, we offer actionable, strategic advice on market potential, portfolio management, and product marketing-related issues along the entire lifecycle of a drug. We aspire to be a first-stop shop in pharmaceutical and healthcare research, analysis, and problem-solving, for commercial, R&D, and business development issues, based on industry-recognized knowledge and analytical expertise.
Please visit our website at: www.datamonitor.com
|
|
|
|
First pages: 1 Total pages:1
|
|
|
Taiwan Life Sciences Weekly
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
| |
