Takeda: China will become second-largest market by 2031

Having been in the Chinese pharmaceutical market for 30 years, Japan's Takeda is optimistic about the market and will keep investing in the country, a senior company executive has said.

"China is a key strategic market for Takeda. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Takeda in China, which is a significant milestone demonstrating our long-term commitment to China," said Thomas Wozniewski, global manufacturing and supply officer at Takeda. "China is Takeda's third-largest market. Our China business maintained strong growth which was exceeding market growth since 2020. It is expected that China will become our second-largest market by 2031."

Between 2020 and 2024, Takeda brought 16 innovative medicines and treatment options to the Chinese market.

"The Chinese government is increasingly recognizing the value of innovative medicines and has established pathways, for example, the breakthrough therapy designation, to accelerate the registration process. Thanks to this initiative, Takeda in China has successfully obtained breakthrough designations for several new assets," Wozniewski said.

Since China's medical reform in 2015, the development of innovative drugs in the country has greatly accelerated pace. The approval time of such drugs has been cut from 16 months to around 50 days, and that of urgent clinical drugs has been cut even shorter, creating favorable conditions for the development of innovative drugs.

On Sept 13, the National Medical Products Administration said that it is accelerating the approval process of urgent clinical drugs, cutting the approval time from 60 to 30 workdays.

The Tianjin manufacturing site, established in 1994, was Takeda's first production facility in China, marking the beginning of local production for the company. The site stands as a cornerstone for Takeda's journey in the country.

In 2019, Takeda invested 110 million yuan ($15.4 million) to expand the Tianjin site, which significantly enhanced its production and storage capacities.

To better address the growing demand for the treatment of high-prevalence diseases in China, Takeda invested an additional 50 million yuan in 2022 for a full process technology transfer from Japan to the Tianjin site for an innovative drug to be produced there.

According to Takeda, between 2020 and 2024, the production output of its Tianjin manufacturing site doubled and its production efficiency increased by 35 percent.

"The Tianjin site has been crucial in supporting our 'in China, for China' strategy over the past three decades, producing high-quality pharmaceuticals locally. Additionally, the site continues to play an important role in our manufacturing network through its focus on local production and constant modernization," said Wozniewski. "Localization helps us gain speed and flexibility. It also helps us better understand and comply with the local quality and safety standards. It is also good for supply continuity. This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic period. It is also very cost-efficient."

An Guangyong, an expert with the Professional Committee of Credit Management, the China Mergers and Acquisitions Association, said that multinational corporations' localization is beneficial for them in enhancing brand trust and market share, promoting technological innovation and increasing market demand. It is also good for gaining governmental support and highly efficient communication.

Chen Jia, an independent international strategy researcher, said: "After the test of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's economy has shown excellent resilience, with unparalleled supply chain guarantee capabilities and a continuous trade surplus leading the world. This greatly enhances the confidence of foreign-funded enterprises to increase capital and build factories in China.

"When a large number of Chinese enterprises adopt the 'going global' strategy to showcase Chinese manufacturing, the spillover effects generated will promote the acceleration of vertical industrialization of relevant international industrial chain leading enterprises and increase investment in the Chinese market. In this way, large-scale operations can be carried out to reduce total costs. In addition, China's more mature industrial research and development capabilities can be leveraged."

Wozniewski said: "We are committed to continuously investing in the Tianjin plant as well as other places in China. We will invest in new technologies, capacity and doing the right thing for the planet. As the Chinese market continues to grow, we look for the best opportunity to source the local market."