According to the WHO, over 20 million people (approximately 3% of all 20-79 of population) in China have diabetes, and this number is expected to rise to over 42 million in 2030. But IMS suggested that China has 40 million people with diabetes in 2007 and the figure is projected to rise to 60 million in 2025.

The China Medical Association estimated that government’s direct spending on diabetes annually is CNY 18.7 billion, which is around 25% of all healthcare spending. Average annual therapy cost per diabetes patient is 13,800 RMB, which is 3.7 times the cost of non-diabetes patients.

Currently diabetes patients spend an average of 300 RMB monthly on diabetes treatment, which is roughly 60-70% of their total medical spending, according to Synovate Healthcare China, a leading healthcare market research firm and publisher of the China Diabetes Therapy Monitor. Just under 50% of these costs are reimbursed, though there is significant regional variation: 80% in Beijing and only 34% in Guangzhou.

Southern Medicine Economics Institute under the SFDA (SMEI) reported that the Chinese diabetes drug market to be over CNY 7 billion in 2006, up nearly 18% from 2005. The growth rate of diabetes drug sales was quite low in 2004 and 2005 at around 11%, but it began to accelerate in 2006. The compound aggregated growth rate (CAGR) of diabetes drugs in China between 2002 and 2006 was 9.8%, which is much lower than 16.5% CAGR of such drugs globally.

On the other hand, IMS forecasted to the Chinese hospital market for diabetes drugs will reach US$700 million (US$4.9 billion) by 2010. 

SMEI suggested that the diabetes drugs are dominated by oral medications, but the share of oral diabetes drugs had been on a consistent decline to 75% in 2006 from 83% in 2002, while that of diabetes drugs by injection rose from only 17% in 2002 to 25% in 2006.

Western diabetes medicines dominate the Chinese oral diabetes drug market with its share stabilizing at around 81% in 2006, up from 79% in 2002. The growth rate of oral formulated traditional Chinese medicines for diabetes has been slow at around 10% between 2002 and 2006.

Among the top ten oral diabetes drugs by hospital sales in 2006, nine are products of Sino-foreign joint ventures. Bayer’s Glucobay (Acrobose) leading the top ten with 14% market share in 2006 oral diabetes drug hospital sales, followed by Servier’s Diamicorn (Gliclazide) with over 9% share, and Xiaoke Granule (a formulated TCM) of Guangzhou Zhongyi Pharma with also over 9% share.

SMEI suggested that leading four oral diabetes drugs accounted for 41% of all oral diabetes drug hospital sales in 2006, while the leading eight such products represented 63% in the same year.

Experts from Synovate Healthcare China said at the recent Pharma China Forum that the structural problems with the Chinese healthcare system and culture barriers to better diet control and exercise conspire to make diabetes an ongoing healthcare concern, despite higher awareness.

Although the considerable amount of healthcare expenditures are spent on diabetes treatment, a recent analysis of 2248 patients by the Asia Diabetes Management China Cooperative Group estimated that less than 25% of Chinese diabetes patients have their condition under control, a finding corroborated by data from Synovate Healthcare’s China Diabetes Therapy Monitor.