Replies to post #2366 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

MRK Is Serious About Emerging Markets, Says Ken Frazier

[To be read in conjunction with #msg-59590951.]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42275012

›Saturday, 26 Mar 2011 | 1:37 PM ET
By: Julia La Roche

Pharmaceutical giant Merck expects more than a quarter of its revenue to come from emerging markets, led by China, by 2013 as the government there carries out a plan to reform its healthcare system, according to Merck Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier.

China's government has dedicated $125 billion dollars through the end of this year in an effort to revamp the country's outdated healthcare system for its 1.3 billion people.

"It’s a great place for Merck to do business and to do what it does best, which is to respond to unmet medical need," Frazier said.

Merck began working with the Chinese government during the 1980s in the midst of a hepatitis B epidemic. The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company donated vaccine at that time and built plants. The company now has three facilities and over 5,100 employees in China.

“Even now we work closely with the Chinese government to place our biggest drugs Zocor on their essential drug list," he said, adding that, "There’s a long-term partnership between Merck and the Chinese government. We believe we have the freedom to operate.”‹