Simcere eyes growing pharmaceutical niche

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, a Nanjing, Jiangsu province-headquartered drugmaker, plans to expand its global presence over the next five years, sharpening its focus on neuroscience, oncology and other core therapies to tackle major unmet medical needs, notably neurodegenerative diseases, said a senior executive.

The company, with more than 6,500 employees globally, has identified central nervous system conditions — including strokes, insomnia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease — as among the largest unmet medical needs in China, where patient demand remains substantial.

Zhou Gaobo, Simcere's chief investment officer, said while a number of innovative therapies are already available overseas, China still has relatively few homegrown innovations in this field, making the development of truly novel drugs both challenging and resource-intensive.

As part of its strategy to introduce globally innovative medicines to the domestic market, Simcere partnered with pharmaceutical companies from Europe and the United States in recent years, bringing several therapies into China.

The company secured approval in June from China's National Medical Products Administration for Quviviq, a sleep medication owned by Swiss biotech firm Idorsia Ltd, for adult patients with insomnia characterized by difficulties with sleep onset or maintenance.

Simcere also reached an agreement with Idorsia to update the terms of the licensing arrangement for Quviviq in China, further strengthening the partnership and supporting the drug's commercial rollout in the domestic market.

Julien Gander, executive vice-president and chief legal and corporate development officer at Idorsia, said China has always been a key market for the Swiss company, and its role is becoming increasingly critical.

"Beyond being one of the world's largest pharmaceutical markets, China has become an increasingly dynamic environment for scientific innovation," said Gander, noting that the speed of clinical development, the quality of infrastructure and the capability of local teams are all critical factors that make the country a priority market.

As 2025 marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Switzerland, he said that the partnership between Idorsia and Simcere illustrates how win-win cooperation can be achieved.

Similar views were expressed by Martine Clozel, Idorsia's executive vice-president and chief scientific officer. "We have long cooperated with Chinese partners across multiple stages of drug development — from sourcing building blocks and preparing for preclinical work to advancing into clinical trials," Clozel said.

"This is not new to us," she said." What is new is the acceleration of activity in China, which has now become truly significant. For instance, the production of Quviviq in China can have global implications — and that is something we greatly value."

Zhou from Simcere said that in addition to staying firmly committed to its dual-track strategy of strategic partnerships and in-house research and development, the company will continue to scout globally for high-quality assets — particularly late-stage candidates — and seek development and commercialization rights in China.

Beyond running a raw material medicine base in Jiangsu, the company also manufactures preparation products in Hainan province.

Zhou said the rollout of island-wide special customs operations at Hainan Free Trade Port in mid-December will unlock new opportunities for deepening economic and technical cooperation between Chinese firms and multinational companies, especially in the areas of healthcare, manufacturing and business services.

Over the past five years, Simcere has consistently invested about 25 to 30 percent of its annual revenue in research and development, with total innovation spending approaching 9 billion yuan ($1.28 billion).

The investment has covered both in-house innovation and significant expenditures related to the in-licensing of overseas products. It has also included early-stage research outlays abroad, such as the establishment of the company's innovation center in Boston, the US, as part of its broader drive to strengthen global innovation capabilities.

Between 2016 and 2020, the Chinese pharma firm launched one innovative drug, while seven were brought to market between 2021 and 2025, highlighting an acceleration in innovation and development output.