Regional specialization in China's biopharmaceutical industry

Recent developments in China’s biopharmaceutical industry (2012-2017)

Purpose

The paper aims to take stock of China’s recent biopharmaceutical industry development by analyzing product innovation and changes in the firms’ product portfolios during the five-year period between 2012 and 2017.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper introduces a classification of biopharmaceutical products. By applying the classification to the product data of China’s drug regulator, the CFDA, it becomes possible to trace the developments within the sector by looking at changes in the number of firms within each subgroup and changes in the number of subgroups in which each firm is involved. The classification allows an evaluation of the latest product innovation achievements.

Findings

The paper demonstrates a mild shakeout of firms in the relatively long-existing domestic market segments, a trend toward more specialized product portfolios and an enduring prevalence of innovation strategies aimed at exploiting relatively unpopulated domestic market niches instead of pioneering entirely new products. Especially the capability of upgrading to second-generation protein therapeutics has become a key criterion for separating the wheat and the chaff in China’s domestic sector. The paper moreover points out the relevance of acquisitions as a corporate growth strategy.

Research limitations/implications

The research does not consider complementary indicators, product pipelines in particular. Future research should compare patterns across emerging economies.

Originality/value

The paper is unique in using the CFDA database for systematic academic research on (bio)pharmaceutical innovation and in introducing a biopharmaceutical product classification to trace innovative activities and changes in corporate product portfolios over time.

Local government policies and pharmaceutical clusters in China

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study how local government policy influences the structure of Chinese pharmaceutical clusters during their industrial catch-up.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper applies a case study method by targeting pharmaceutical clusters in Tonghua, Taizhou, and Tianjin.

Findings

– The varied structures of pharmaceutical clusters in China demonstrate local governments' efforts to utilize local resources accordingly. While the local governments in China introduce different policies to firms with different ownership in the process of constructing different cluster composition, all the local governments emphasize motivating the development of small- and middle-sized enterprises for cluster dynamics.

Practical implications

– The local governments should try to reach a balance between short-term foundation and long-term competitiveness for industrial cluster development.

Originality/value

– This paper provides the detailed analysis of local governments' influences on the formation of pharmaceutical clusters in China and helps to enrich the knowledge about how local government promotes industrial clusters to realize industrial catch-up through sectoral innovation system.