00:00Well, let's get more on this. Fiona Sincotta is an analyst at Financial Services, the company
00:04Citi Index. So, Fiona, great to speak to you again. What does this deal say about China's
00:12pharma industry at the moment? Yeah, this is really interesting because it tells us that
00:17really China is moving beyond that sort of low-cost manufacturing base that previously had been seen
00:25at. And this is much more about intellectual property that these international pharmaceutical
00:31companies want to access for their markets. And as you pointed out, these are not isolated cases.
00:37We're seeing a growing number of international pharmaceutical companies, big pharma, looking
00:43to access the drug discovery and innovation that's being developed in China.
00:50Yeah. Novo is facing intense competition and its pattern on its semi-glutase is also running
00:57out. So, is this deal about ensuring its kind of long-term future in the obesity market?
01:04Yes, exactly that. You know, I think, you know, the steel that we've seen today is not going
01:08to change the competitive landscape today as we see it. This is much more about sort of
01:13creating a pipeline of oral obesity drugs, also increasing sort of optionality and very much
01:22seen as sort of pipeline reinforcement rather than, you know, major changes that we're going
01:27to see today. As you noted, you know, this is a drug that is in trial phase still. But I
01:34think
01:34the other thing to highlight here is just how important this sector of the pharmaceutical market
01:41is, you know, obesity drugs is very much where we've seen a lot of attention. And I think
01:44we'll continue to see going forward.
01:47China's been traditionally a manufacturing hub where the drugs are manufactured, but this
01:51is much more about it kind of leading the way in terms of innovative drugs. So what's,
01:57is the rest of the world going to see that as a change?
02:01I think we are starting to see that as a change. And we're starting to see that because of these
02:06deals that are being made. Now, I don't think it's necessarily going to be a rapid change
02:10because, you know, China has been seen as sort of the low cost manufacturing of drugs for quite
02:15some time. But there are definitely shifts in what we're seeing towards, you know, much more
02:20interest in the innovation and the drug discovery. I think obviously there are regulatory hurdles that
02:26will need to be jumped over. But, you know, previously it used to be very much Western countries
02:31developing China manufacturing and then sort of, you know, Western then selling those on. Whereas now
02:38we have seen this shift to China's discovery and innovation, then multinationals licensing and
02:46global companies commercializing. So there is a definite shift as China pharmaceutical is moving
02:51up the value chain. Fiona Zincotta, thank you very much. And back to you, Julia.
02:57Thanks, Paul.
