Meanwhile, China's generics industry is gearing up for an onslaught on the U.S. market. A drug maker this summer won the first FDA approval for a Chinese-made pill, in this case, an HIV remedy; others aren't far behind. And when you consider that India's drug exports were few and far between just 10 years ago--and how that country's drug industry has affected pharma since--it's clear that a Chinese push could send enormous ripples through the market.

The country already has a big presence in active-ingredient manufacturing. That's a base generics-makers can build upon fairly quickly. Take the company that won approval for its version of the HIV drug nevirapine, Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical--it's hoping to export an Alzheimer's drug to Europe as early as next year. The question is, will the rest of the world's drug makers be ready for the challenge?

- read the report [1] from the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

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