Beyond Borders: Global biotechnology report 2010

Conversation on emerging markets
New opportunities
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Biocon
CEO
Canwen Jiang, MD, PhD
Genzyme
Vice President and
Head of Genzyme R&D Asia
26 Beyond borders Global biotechnology report 2010
Emerging markets have attracted increasing attention from Western companies
in recent years, driven by the brisk growth and tremendous potential in these
markets, as well as the rapidly evolving strengths of new generations of companies
in these locations. As we surveyed the “new normal” for this year’s Beyond borders,
we wondered how changing market realities have affected these trends. Has the
performance of companies in emerging markets been hurt by the global economic
downturn? As biotech companies in the West adjust to the new normal and the need to
find new sources of efficiency, what role are companies in emerging markets playing?
To get some perspectives on these questions, we sat down in early 2010 with a couple of
industry leaders from two emerging-market giants — India and China. Canwen Jiang,
Vice President and Head of R&D for Genzyme R&D Asia, has been with the
Massachusetts-based company since 1994 and currently heads Genzyme’s R&D
operations and strategy in the Asia markets with a focus on China. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
is the long-tenured CEO of Bangalore-based Biocon, a leading Indian biotech compan
that provides services through its Syngene and Clinigene units while also developing
novel biopharmaceuticals.
The picture these two leaders paint is encouraging. Not only have emerging markets
survived the downturn, but many firms in these locations have even benefited from
their ability to provide the very efficiencies that Western firms are seeking. As
companies in the West look for new approaches to sustainability, they will increasingly
need to look at emerging markets in new ways.
Ernst & Young: What impact did the global economic downturn have on the biotech
industry in China and India? What’s the situation today? Is a “new normal” emerging
after the dust has settled?
Jiang: China’s experience has been quite different from what happened in the West. On
one hand, the Government has started providing very significant funding for life-sciences
start-ups. Policy-makers view this as a strategic long-term investment in building a
knowledge-based economy. As a result, China remains an attractive location for companies,
including Western companies which are moving to China to take advantage of the
infrastructure that’s been built.
On the other hand, China is part of the global economy and an important player in
the globalization of drug R&D. So as Western companies — particularly early-stage
companies — have faced financial difficulties, they have had to cut back on their
spending in China, for instance with Chinese CROs.