Chinese Hospital Drug Procurement Seen Rising

According to official statistics, China's hospitals procured drugs worth a total CNY90.5bn (US$10.93bn) in 2004, a 28.6% rise on the previous year. Government efforts to restrict growth in the sector were unsuccessful, with the leading anti-infectives segment growing at more than 20%, despite a series of controls imposed during the year.

The dominance of anti-infectives is testament to the somewhat basic nature of China's drug market, although increasing sophistication is evidenced by the sharp growth in demand for Recombinant Human Granulocyte-colony Stimulating Factor (rhG-CSF), a blood treatment for conditions associated with chemotherapy that is produced locally. Notably, immune system and central nervous system drugs also grew by over 30% last year.

Hospital sector procurement is a useful indicator of general prescription market performance in China. Hospitals account for as much as 90% of all prescriptions written in the country, while also being the dominant players in medicines distribution.