Astellas China exec lauds innovation-boosting policies

China's ongoing push for high-level opening-up, coupled with its enormous market potential and enhanced intellectual property protections, has fostered a conducive environment for multinational pharmaceutical companies to bring their innovation medical solutions to the country, said a senior executive.

"We appreciate the Chinese government's strong commitment to deepening reforms and expanding high-standard opening-up, with a slew of measures aimed at further optimizing the foreign investment environment," said Shirley Zhao, president of Astellas China, in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

Zhao's comments followed the Government Work Report released at the two sessions - the annual meetings of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies – which highlighted that the country "will keep working to foster a first-rate business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, thus enabling foreign-funded enterprises to achieve even greater business success in China."

"As a multinational pharmaceutical company, Astellas has benefited from these supportive policies in its business growth in China, and we remain confident in the country's continuous endeavors to improve the foreign investment environment," Zhao added.

Astellas has been deeply rooted in the Chinese market for thirty years, witnessing the transformation of its healthcare industry from a phase of importing products and technologies to high-quality development driven by innovation. Over the past three decades, China's pharmaceutical innovation has made a historical leap, Zhao said.

As the second-largest pharmaceutical market in the world, Zhao stressed that China is very important for Astellas, offering enormous market potential and opportunities for the company to leverage global expertise in accelerating innovation here.

With China's steady economic growth and rising living standards, the public demand for innovative medical solutions is increasing, particularly in oncology and other major disease areas, Zhao said.

Over the past year, Astellas China, according to Zhao, has achieved key milestones in four disease areas, including gastric cancer, urothelial carcinoma, prostate cancer and vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. The company has also experienced growth in size.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is actively accelerating the approval of innovative drugs, and improving the multi-layer medical security system. These efforts have created significant opportunities for Astellas' development in China, Zhao said.

"We are actively exploring collaborations with local partners to advance innovative drug development and clinical trials, contributing to China's pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem," Zhao said.

"We look forward to more favorable policies of accelerating innovation, enhancing intellectual property protection, and improving patient access to innovation. Together, we aim to drive the high-quality development of China's pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, serving the growing health needs of the Chinese population," Zhao said.