Pharmaceutical market to hit 2.3t yuan by '20

BEIJING -- China's pharmaceutical market is expected to soar to 2.3 trillion yuan ($369.2 billion) by 2020, up from 926.1 billion yuan this year, according to a report.

The Report on China's Pharmaceutical Market 2012, published Friday by the Social Sciences Academic Press, noted that the country's aging population will give rise to increased demand for medicine, while a fast-growing economy is expected to boost both the social insurance level and people's consumption capacities.

According to the report, these factors will help the country's pharmaceutical market expand at an average annual rate of 12 percent by 2020.

The report also pointed out various problems in the country's pharmaceutical industry, noting that many Chinese pharmaceutical companies haven't realized large-scale operation and their shares in the high-end drug market pale in comparison to that of foreign groups.

Moreover, a basic medicine system that ensures commonly-used drugs be sold at production cost has led to a relatively stagnant market for companies that mainly produce such pharmaceutical products.

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