Novartis AG, the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical researcher and developer, expects an annual 20-30 percent growth of sales in China in the next five years.

Sales for the world's fifth-largest drug maker are expected to grow by 42.6 percent this year, an increase of 28.8 percentage points over last year.

In 2002, sales on the Chinese mainland reached 1.14 billion yuan (US$137 million), an increase of 13.8 percent over the previous year, according to Paul Lau, president of Novartis China branch.

This optimism is based on a series of plans that Novartis AG has made for its business expansion strategy on the Chinese mainland for the next few years.

In order to fulfill these targets, explained Lau, Novartis AG plans to bring its affiliated company Sandoz to China to explore the huge OTC market, further enlarge the scale of its production base in Changping, located in suburban Beijing, and launch at least two new patented drugs in China Sandostatin LAR, a treatment for cancer and Visudyne for age-related vision dysfunction.

Sandoz, another leading chemical/life science giant, was established in 1886. It was merged with two other companies, Ciba and Geigy, to create Novartis AG in 1996.

The simultaneous merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz was the largest corporate deal in the world.

Starting in 2002, Novartis AG put all of its OTC pharmaceutical business under the Sandoz name. Last year, Sandoz reported an increase of 47 percent in sales globally.

Sandoz will set up an office in China to carry out OTC business. At this time, Sandoz has no direct business with the Chinese mainland, Lau said. He did not give more detail about where and when the office will open.

He confirmed that the Novartis AG executive board has approved the further expansion of the production base in Changping in northern Beijing.

The expansion is expected to be completed before 2007.

With a total investment of 120 million yuan (US$14 million), the production capacity of the new plant is expected to triple from the present level and the variety of products will also increase, according to James Liu, president of Beijing Novartis Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.

(China Daily February 27, 2004)