The deal, of which financial details have not been divulged, sees DKSH strengthening its presence in the China by integrating Glory’s 35 specialists with its own operations, enabling clients to grow their businesses faster by using a single provider for market access into Macau and China, DKSH spokesman Michael Hofer said.
He told Outsourcing-Pharma.com demand for market expansion services in Asia for European and US-based pharma companies remained high and stable, but additionally the firm has been witnessing “an increased demand for Market Expansion Services from Asian pharma companies who are expanding their business in the region.”
Additionally he told us: “Companies that are new to Asia are in general looking for holistic full service solutions along the entire value chain from product registration, importation, custom clearance to marketing, sales and physical distribution as well as invoicing and cash collection.”
This contrasted to those firms who were already well established in Asia and “are usually more interested in full services for specific (mature) brands or specialized service solutions such as logistics & distribution or sales & marketing.”
“Another trend we see is the increased demand from pharma companies to strengthen their position in the trade / pharmacy channel as well as private channel (private hospitals & clinics) due to the increased pressure on public healthcare spending in several Asian markets.”
Finally, Hofer spoke to us about the shift from small molecule drugs to large molecule biologics, with pharma keen to gain access to the Asian market for the latter. “DKSH provides specialized access programs together with partner organizations that help our clients to get access to Asian patients for these products,” he said.
In the last year, DKSH has penned a number of deals with Pharma in Southeast Asia and China, including GSK, Kyowa Hakko, Pfizer and Bayer.