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 China is now the world's second-largest drugs market behind the
United States and is a particular bright spot for AstraZeneca,
accounting for 15 percent of its drug sales -- a far higher
proportion than at other big pharmaceutical companies.
AstraZeneca's sales in China grew 30 percent in the last quarter of
2017 and Chief Executive Pascal Soriot expects them to continue to
increase at a "low-20s" percentage rate.
The new strategic partnership with Ali Health, a subsidiary company
of Alibaba, aims to deliver new smart health services driven by the
Internet and artificial intelligence to help patients find and stay
on the right medicines.
The deal with Tencent, meanwhile, involves the development of online
tracking systems to fight counterfeit medicines -- a common problem
in China.
Both deals were announced on Friday, alongside AstraZeneca's
full-year results. [nL8N1PS1G6]
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"Overall, these agreements will drive better health outcomes and ...
better utilization of our drugs," said Chief Executive Pascal Soriot.
The tech tie-ups come two months after AstraZeneca created a new
drug development joint venture with a state-backed private equity
fund in China, designed to help get new drugs to market more
quickly. [nL8N1NW07Y]
AstraZeneca is in a strong position in China after recently having
had five new products added to the National Reimbursement Drug List
- Onglyza for diabetes, cancer drugs Iressa and Faslodex, heart
medicine Brilinta and antipsychotic treatment Seroquel.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Keith Weir)
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