The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

MRK, Simcere form Chinese drug-development JV:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Merck-and-Simcere-Sign-bw-4185591282.html?x=0&.v=1

The initial focus of the partnership will be branded pharmaceutical products for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Specifically, in the area of cardiovascular disease, the partnership will offer a combined portfolio of selected medicines from both companies, including ZOCOR® (simvastatin), COZAAR® (losartan) and RENITEC® (enalapril) by Merck/MSD, and XINTA (levamlodipine) and SHUFUTAN (rosuvastatin) by Simcere. In the metabolic disease area, the partnership will work to maximize access in China to sitagliptin, a DPP-IV inhibitor for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is increasingly recognized as a significant public health threat in China [#msg-48221898)].

…Mr. Zhijun Luo, secretary of China's Jiangsu Provincial Committee, presided over the signing ceremony.