【英语中国】默克与中国医药集团商讨建立合资企业

Merck & Co. said Tuesday it was in talks with China's Sinopharm Group Co. for a venture to market vaccines and potentially Merck drugs, which would represent Merck's first significant partnership in the huge, growing market.

Merck and other Western drug companies are rushing to grab market share in emerging markets such as China and India. Rivals including Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC believe much of the industry's growth in coming years will be in these countries, as expanding middle classes gain better access to health care, and changes in lifestyle increase the prevalence of certain chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Merck and Sinopharm announced Tuesday they signed a 'statement of mutual intent,' which Merck spokesman Ian McConnell described as a commitment to discuss possible business arrangements.

For now, the focus of the talks is on the commercialization of certain vaccines in China, including Merck's vaccine against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is designed to protect against cervical cancer and other diseases. The vaccine, sold under the brand Gardasil in Western markets, isn't yet approved in China, McConnell said.

Sinopharm's operations include China's largest bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing company and largest pharmaceutical distribution company, according to a press release. Merck has existing, in-house operations in China.

The companies also will discuss the potential for promoting and marketing Merck's pharmaceutical products in China.

Other companies have taken steps to expand share in emerging markets. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) recently agreed to acquire the generic-drugs unit of India's Piramal Healthcare Ltd. for $3.7 billion. Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) has doubled its sales force in China and its venture-capital arm is investing $100 million largely in Chinese life-sciences companies.

默克公司（Merck & Co.）周二表示，正与中国医药集团总公司(简称：国药控股)就建立合资企业以销售疫苗、并可能推销默克药品一事进行磋商，这将是默克在进军中国这一庞大、快速发展的市场方面组建的第一家意义重大的合资企业。

默克和西方其他制药企业纷纷涌入中国和印度等新兴市场以夺取市场份额，包括辉瑞（Pfizer Inc.）和葛兰素史克（GlaxoSmithKline PLC）在内的竞争对手认为，未来许多年制药业的增长将主要依赖这些国家，因为新兴市场国家人数不断壮大的中产阶级将享受到更多医疗保健服务，另外生活方式的改变也会使糖尿病等某些慢性疾病在这些国家更加流行。

默克和国药控股周二宣布，双方签署了“共同意向声明”，默克发言人麦康奈尔（Ian McConnell）说，这一声明显示双方将致力于商讨可能的商业安排。

麦康奈尔说，目前磋商的重点是将某些疫苗产品在中国实现商业化，其中包括默克的抗人类乳突淋瘤病毒（HPV）的疫苗，该疫苗旨在预防宫颈癌和其他疾病。这种疫苗在西方市场以加德西（Gardasil）这一品牌销售，但在中国尚未被批准使用。

根据新闻稿，国药控股的业务包括中国最大的生物制药企业和最大的药物分销公司。默克在中国已有自己的业务。

这两家公司还将讨论在中国推广和营销默克公司药品的可能性。

其他西方制药公司已经采取措施来扩大自己在新兴市场的占有率。雅培制药（Abbott Laboratories）近期决定以37亿美元收购印度企业Piramal Healthcare Ltd.的仿制药子公司。礼来公司（Eli Lilly & Co.）将其在华销售人员增加了一倍，其风险投资部门正在投资1亿美元，目标主要为中国的生命科学企业。