Page 71 - Forbes - Asia (July - August 2018)

FORBES ASIA
BEST UNDER A BILLION — 3SBIO

DAD’S LEGACY autoimmune and other areas, Guojian
will supply 3SBio’s contract manufactur-
Born in northeast China’s Harbin, ers when overseas market approvals are in
Lou Dan joined the army at age 15 place. Today 3SBio has 31 drug candidates
at the beginning of the Korean War in the pipeline; 7 have passed Phase III, the
in 1950. He became a medic and last clinical trial under China’s FDA.
furthered his training after the war, But 3SBio still sees a vast untapped China
assigned to epidemic prevention for market for bio drugs. An example: Only
the military. Dan spent years doing 500,000 of China’s 9 million kidney-induced
field research along the Sino-Soviet anemia patients are using EPO drugs, the rest
border in Heilongjiang, trapping rats, taking chemical compounds or traditional
badgers and other critters in search Chinese medicine. “Biopharmaceutics are
of any connection between micro- more long-lasting and have less severe side
organisms they carry and epidemics Lou Dan, father of Lou Jing, started Shenyang efects. It should be the patients’ irst choice,”
Sunshine Pharmaceutical, precursor of 3SBio.
among the troops. Lou says. “But with China banning direct-
“It was quite dangerous,” says his son Lou Jing. “The winter nights are freez- to-consumer advertising [on prescription
ing, and if you got lost in the dark and crossed the border, you might be consid- medicine], you can only count on the doctors
ered a traitor when escorted back.” On this hazardous duty Lou Dan identified a to make this clear to the patients.”
new bacterial strain, gaining prestige and rising to major general. He relocated to LEK’s Chen balks at the claim on
Shenyang, where Lou Jing was born, to work at a military medical institute. duration and side efects, but does expect
Dad was well situated enough to get his only son to America for an advanced biologics to represent 12% of China’s pre-
degree. And when changes to military policies curbed his own ambitions, Lou scription pharma market in value in ive
Dan set up Shenyang Sunshine Pharmaceutical in 1993. The government-backed years, up from 7% last year. hat market,
precursor of 3SBio became a private-sector joint venture in 1995 with Lou Jing second only to the U.S., was pegged at
pulling together $550,000 with help from friends in the U.S. “It was an astronomi- $123 billion last year and expected to
cal number for us,” he says. reach $160 billion by 2022. However, Chen
“We had a U.S. Big Pharma [which he declines to name] interested, but when igures a quarter of the overall market will
they came [to China] and went to dinner with us, two dozen government oicials be biopharma’s ceiling: “here will always
from irrelevant departments showed up,” Lou Jing remembers. “They got startled continue to be usage of chemical drugs
and canceled the deal.” —J.H. and also Chinese medicine, even without
government encouragement.”
One hurdle is cost. Tpiao and Yisaipu
For all its early gains at home, however, Epiao have received marketing autho- only became reimbursable drugs under
3SBio faces struggles as a Chinese drug- rization in Ukraine, which belongs to a China’s national healthcare plan last year, al-
maker abroad. Lou says he wants half its regulatory network of 50-odd nations on though not for all their indications, and Epiao
sales to be abroad in ten years. Right now, medical products’ manufacturing practices. still hasn’t made the list. “Biologics are also
that share is only 2%. Lou believes the breakthrough there will injected, not oral, and more likely need to be
Last year 3SBio planned to absorb a facilitate reviews by other members, such as kept temperature-controlled. It would be less
Canadian contract manufacturer, but the hailand, supercharging growth. convenient for the patients,” adds Chen.
deal failed to obtain approval from authori- China is not yet in that circuit but has Lou’s prognosis is bullish, though, as
ties there. Lou hopes Sirton will open a joined other international organizations China is committed to revisit the reim-
window into Europe, and he’ll keep looking such as one harmonizing pharma registra- bursement list annually—the last time it
for another North American outpost. “he tion requirements, syncing its domestic was amended before 2017 was nine years
current international situation is not so fa- standards with those in the U.S. and ago. “Overseas expansion is one way to
vorable, but it’s temporary,” he avers. “It has Europe. However, its execution still lags, hedge the risks as we grow bigger,” he says.
nothing to do with [biopharma] technology notes Carrie Chen, Deloitte’s China partner “China will always be our home base.”
and won’t afect us in the long run.” sitting on its global life sciences and health- Meantime, the American-trained
he company has been conduct- care committee, and registration of drugs scientist hasn’t forgotten U.S. pharma’s
ing clinical trials for Epiao in Russia and abroad is a taxing process. appreciation for marketing. “A professional
hailand, and Yisaipu, contributing to 27% Sunshine Guojian plays another role in background sure has its merits, but it could
of 3SBio’s sales in 2017, has been approved Lou’s master plan. With the largest plant [make an executive] focus too much on the
in 11 countries and is in the registration in China for monoclonal antibodies, an product,” he says. “here’s more to commer-
process in 19. Since 2016 both Tpiao and important component for bio drugs in cial success than just good products.” F

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