(Yicai) Nov. 2 -- Boehringer Ingelheim plans to invest more than CNY4 billion (USD546.6 million) in China over the next five years to accelerate research and development and the launch of human medicines and animal health products, according to the chief executive of the German drugmaker's China arm.

Regarding human drugs, Boehringer Ingelheim's R&D focuses on mental health, oncology, and metabolic diseases and could secure over 30 registration approvals in China by 2029, Pavol Dobrocky, who is also the company’s China president, told Yicai. In terms of animal health, it expects to have more than 15 new products and indications approved by the country over the next five years, he added.

Boehringer Ingelheim will exhibit eight innovative products in human medicine and animal health, including Spevigo, a treatment for a rare skin disease, at the upcoming sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The National Medical Products Administration granted marketing authorization for Spevigo as a generalized pustular psoriasis treatment in adults last December.

Spevigo was approved in China just three months later than in the United States, achieving “zero time lag” for the benefit of Chinese patients, Dobrocky noted. Boehringer Ingelheim applied to market the drug in the Asian country as a new indication to prevent GPP in May.

Since its first attended the CIIE in 2019, the Ingelheim-based firm has showcased more than 30 innovative products and solutions at the annual trade fair, speeding up the launch of its products in the Chinese market.

After bringing its stroke treatments to the expos in 2019 and 2020, Boehringer Ingelheim partnered with the Wenjiang district government of Chengdu city to invest and build a Germany-standard stroke rehabilitation center, Dobrocky noted.

Boehringer Ingelheim has confidence in the potential and resilience of the Chinese market, especially with the introduction of a series of policies to attract foreign investment in recent years, Dobrocky said. The firm hopes that these measures can be implemented as soon as possible to provide a level playing field and ease of doing business for market participants, he added.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev