The 2025 IMD China Company Transformation Indicator (CCTI) rankings for the pharmaceutical sector highlight three key success factors for leading pharmaceutical companies: Pharmaceutical Pipeline, R&D Efforts, and Business Robustness. Top performers demonstrate financial strength, diversified product portfolios, and significant commitment to innovation. However, challenges remain – the institutionalization of centralized drug procurement is putting pressure on margins, forcing companies to balance innovative development with cost efficiency and accessibility. Those with strong balance sheets and broad product portfolios have proven more adaptable to these regulatory shifts aimed at improving healthcare affordability.
Strategic government initiatives like the Pharmaceutical Industry High-Quality Development Action Plan (2023-2025), which was adopted by the State Council in August 2023, have played a crucial role in supporting pharmaceutical innovation, while the post-pandemic emphasis on preventive healthcare has created new opportunities, particularly in vaccines and biologics.
While Novo Nordisk leads the sector following a dramatic rise in the rankings, domestic champions including Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and CSPC now demonstrate China’s growing capabilities in pharmaceutical innovation, showing that homegrown companies can compete effectively with established multinational corporations.
A full description of each key factor is in the methodology section in the white paper.
Category | Key Factors |
|---|---|
| Core Resilience | Business Success |
| Business Robustness | |
| Business Diversity | |
| China Policy Power | |
| Pharmaceutical Pipeline | |
| New Growth Engines | Investment Capacity |
| Investors’ Expectations of Future Growth | |
| R&D Efforts | |
| Early Innovation Results | |
| Environmental, Social and Governance |
Novo Nordisk claimed the top spot in the 2025 rankings, surging dramatically from 13th place in 2024. This Danish healthcare powerhouse has successfully transformed from a challenger to a market leader through R&D investment, business diversification, and strategic expansion into China’s growing obesity treatment market. The company delivered exceptional financial performance in 2023, reporting global revenues of DKK 232.3bn (RMB 246.2bn), a 31% year-on-year increase, largely driven by the success of semaglutide-based therapies.
Despite navigating significant price cuts of up to 50% on its insulin portfolio due to China’s volume-based procurement policies, Novo Nordisk has maintained market share, demonstrating remarkable resilience and strategic adaptability. The company’s push into China’s obesity drug market with Wegovy represents a pivotal move to address a pressing public health challenge, with nearly half of Chinese adults classified as overweight or obese. This expansion not only addresses crucial healthcare accessibility needs for China’s growing middle class but also further bolsters the firm’s long-term growth prospects and investor confidence in the Chinese market.
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals secured the third position in the 2025 rankings, climbing two places versus 2024. As China’s leading innovative pharmaceutical firm, Hengrui’s ascent reflects its exceptional financial robustness, competitive drug pipeline, and significant Environment Social and Governance (ESG) investments. In 2023, the company reported revenue of RMB 22.82bn, a 7.26% year-on-year increase, with net profits rising by 21.46%. Even more striking, Hengrui’s operating cash flow surged by 504.12% to RMB 7.64bn, earning it the top ranking in Business Robustness.
Hengrui’s R&D spending at RMB 6.15bn in 2023, represents more than a quarter (26.95%) of total its revenue, reinforcing its aggressive innovation strategy. In 2023, the company obtained three Class 1 innovative drug approvals and four Class 2 new drugs, strengthening its position in high-impact therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiovascular diseases, and central nervous system disorders. Hengrui’s MSCI ESG rating upgrade to ‘A’ in 2023 also reflects significant progress in environmental protection, social responsibility, and corporate governance, placing it ahead of many domestic pharmaceutical peers.
China Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group (CSPC) rose to fourth place in the 2025 rankings from eighth place in 2024, establishing its position as a leading player through pipeline expansion, global R&D, and strategic innovation. CSPC claimed the top ranking in Pharmaceutical Pipeline and second in Business Robustness, reflecting its focused approach to drug development across multiple therapeutic areas.
The company is actively developing more than 130 innovative drug projects spanning oncology, neurology, cardiovascular, immunology, metabolism, and anti-infection. With plans to submit over 50 new products or indications for market approval within the next five years, CSPC is driving one of the most ambitious R&D pipelines in China’s pharmaceutical sector. Its global expansion strategy is accelerating, with 19 innovative drugs currently in clinical trials worldwide. A landmark achievement came with the approval of Xuanning, an antihypertensive medication, marking the first time a novel molecule drug developed by a Chinese company received full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products recorded one of the most substantial jumps in the rankings, rising from 15th place in 2024 to fifth in 2025. This dramatic improvement signals China’s increasing emphasis on vaccines and biologics. Zhifei has benefited from rising demand for HPV and respiratory vaccines, positioning itself as a leader in the rapidly growing preventive healthcare segment.
Pfizer dropped from first place in 2024 to seventh place in 2025. Once the top-ranked company, Pfizer’s significant decline reflects weakening post-pandemic demand for its products, intensifying pricing pressures from centralized procurement policies, and growing competition from increasingly capable domestic players across multiple therapeutic categories.
Innovation-driven growth, pipeline strength, and regulatory adaptability define China's pharmaceutical market leaders.
China’s pharmaceutical sector continues to show remarkable dynamism despite economic headwinds and regulatory pressures. The CCTI 2025 rankings confirm a clear industry shift toward innovation-driven growth, with R&D excellence and pipeline strength emerging as critical success factors. Companies must now focus on building differentiated portfolios that address China’s evolving healthcare needs while maintaining financial resilience amid ongoing pricing reforms. With urbanization accelerating and an aging population expanding, balancing innovation with affordability has become essential for capturing long-term market opportunity.
While multinational corporations maintain leadership positions, domestic innovators are rapidly closing the gap through extensive R&D investments and strategic focus on high-impact therapeutic areas that address the needs of China’s aging population and expanding middle class. Government support through initiatives like the Pharmaceutical Industry High-Quality Development Action Plan (2023-2025) continues to play a critical role in shaping the sector’s development, with regulatory reforms encouraging patient-centered innovation and accelerated approval pathways for high-impact therapies.
At the same time, the growing emphasis on preventive healthcare presents significant opportunities, particularly in vaccines and biologics for China’s increasingly health-conscious urban residents. Companies that balance innovation with affordability while aligning with the country’s healthcare priorities will capitalize on the irresistible demographic shifts that are reshaping China’s healthcare landscape.
Discover the full results of the IMD China Company Transformation Indicator 2025.
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