Reuters Summit - Drugmakers place big bets on emerging markets

By Sam Cage

NEW YORK (Reuters) - China is the place to be for Western drugmakers seeking insurance against slowing growth, but plenty of other emerging markets are also tempting for Big Pharma, executives told the Reuters Health Summit.

China scores top marks due to its huge population and government investment plans. Other good opportunities include not only Russia, India and Brazil but also smaller markets like Vietnam and Turkey.

"We're making a big bet on China," said Joe Jimenez, chief executive of Novartis AG's drugs unit.

"We are increasing our field force, we are increasing the number of clinical trials we are doing in China," Jimenez said in New York. "Our business is growing over 30 percent a year."

As these countries get richer, people have more disposable income and suffer more so-called lifestyle diseases associated with diet and lack of exercise, like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Forecaster IMS Health sees the drug market in a group of seven major emerging economies -- Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia, South Korea and Turkey -- growing at 12 to 14 percent in 2010 and even faster over the next five years.

That is significantly more than IMS's predictions for the global drugs market, of 4 percent to 6 percent growth in 2010 and 4 percent to 7 percent through 2013.

In those emerging markets, annual growth of more than 20 percent in China should offset tough economics in Russia, Turkey, South Korea and Mexico, according to IMS.