China's drug industry on the rise, analysts say

With Big Pharma looking to China for big growth, homegrown companies seem poised to expand as well. At least that's the conclusion analysts at Morgan Stanley have made, citing the country's ongoing healthcare reform.

Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the entire Chinese pharma industry to "attractive" from "in-line," saying that reform there will increase demand for pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg reports. Basically, the idea is that there's currently pent-up demand for drugs in China, but people aren't always able to pay for them. Next year, the government will implement a nationwide drug reimbursement formulary.

The two Chinese companies Morgan Stanley has tapped as its top picks are Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co.

- read the Bloomberg piece

ALSO: Pfizer cites better intellectual property protections in China as one reason it plans to move into that market in a big way over the next few years. Report

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