Increasingly looking to China to commercialize their latest therapies, multinationals may be leaping into unknown waters to navigate an intellectual property judiciary and administrative maze, in a country where some copy drugs have been approved before patent expiry. With a government trying to balance innovation and access, two recent rulings involving AstraZeneca shed rare light onto China’s protections for innovation, with advisors pointing to challenges and success factors.

The price slashes were so harsh that industry associations have staged a rare faceoff with authorities, with many worrying that the Hunan drug tender, being the first in the year, may herald a new round of drug price cuts in China.

The dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Windhover's Strategic Transactions Database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.