[Video]

 Man Zhiwei

Chairman and General Manager
Otsuka (China) Investment Co., Ltd.

Otsuka Beijing Research Institute

As an industry expert with more than 20 years of experience in new drug R&D, Man Zhiwei sincerely felt that new drug R&D is a very time-consuming and costly undertaking. "It often takes a decade or two to research and develop a new drug. Even a capital investment of USD 200 million to 1 billion cannot guarantee 100% success," said Man Zhiwei. He maintained that China still has a long way to go before it can truly develop new drugs on its own.

But the good news is that with the optimization of the system and the upgrading of technology, many competitive new drug R&D companies have emerged in China. "This is ten years faster than I expected, and the 'China speed' is recognized by the world. New drug R&D will not stop once it starts, and the momentum in China is unstoppable. At present, Europe, the United States and Japan are the major players in new drug R&D, but I believe it will not take too long before China overtakes them."

Man Zhiwei said that many years ago, new drugs in China were mostly generic. In the past decade, with China’s reform and opening-up endeavors and economic development, the issues with funding have been solved thanks to government policies and other channels. At the same time, with the return of talents and the improvement of technology, new drug R&D in China manifests promising prospects.

Source: The Cover

©SCIMEA and The Cover