Drug maker Cipla has plans to foray into the branded formulation market in China in the coming quarters. The company plans to either acquire a company in China or to collaborate with a local partner. Cipla has plans to focus on the respiratory therapeutics in the country.
 
UmangVohra, the Global Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Cipla mentioned that China, like India has a huge incidence of respiratory illness. Since it is a highly industrialized country, there is pollution and a lot of patients need the care provided by Cipla. He mentioned that the company plans to create a respiratory company in China. It is not yet clear whether Cipla has started registering productions with the Chinese food and drug administrator.
The proposed entry of Cipla into China’s branded respiratory segment is in line with the drug maker’s pursuit to build a global respiratory franchise. In FY17, the segment alone contributed about one-fifth to Cipla’s sales of Rs.14, 630 crore.
 
Cipla’s respiratory segment includes a range of products like pills, nasal sprays and inhalers which are used to treat asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and others. Respiratory diseases in China are the second largest cause of deaths.It is estimated that out of the 100 million Chinese, who are thought to have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, only 30 per cent have been diagnosed and only about 5 million are receiving the treatment. The Chinese respiratory market is currently dominated by international pharmaceutical firms like GSK, BoehringerIngelheim, Astrazeneca, Novartis and Merck. Cipla had earlier invested in Jiangsu based drug maker Cdymax, who is involved in making active pharmaceutical ingredient formulations. The company has also invested in BioMab which focuses on developing biosimilars for the Chinese market. It has exited both the investments.
 
Despite the large size, China remains a tough market for the Indian drug makers to gain a share due to the competition and slow place of approvals and the rule to collaborate with local companies and technology transfers.