China insurance giant snatches up stakes in Japanese pharma and a traditional Chinese medicines maker with a $465m spending spree.

Widely viewed as the largest fast-growing pharma market, China can nevertheless be hard to crack for small to mid-sized companies. But a new policy emphasis on quality and affordability are providing a rare opening for those with the right product mix and local partnerships in hand.

The breakup of the Hisun-Pfizer JV typifies an unhappy marriage between Chinese and MNC pharma firms in the generics segment in recent years, although the two companies will continue to work as commercial partners under a new framework. Scrip delves into the reasons for the split and also outlines why, China is, nevertheless, expected to see more joint ventures for innovative drugs.

The potential acquisition of Cardinal Health’s China business by Shanghai Pharmaceuticals could have significant strategic implications for the state-owned suitor, but it’s probably still “hard to assume” how the transaction may finally pan out. Expectations around the deal value are still in excess of $1bn, investor sources tell Scrip.