Multinational pharmaceutical companies are not seeking contract manufacturers that simply “produce according to blueprints,” but rather technology-oriented production enterprises with process development capabilities and a willingness for continuous optimization.
“The Chinese market is crucial. It is Bayer’s second-largest market for consumer health products and is full of vitality. Innovation plays a pivotal role in the development of the Chinese market,” stated David Evendon-Challis, Global President of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Bayer Consumer Health.
The industrial significance of this statement was further emphasized by Li Xiaomeng, Head of R&D for Bayer Consumer Health in China: “China is the global innovation engine for Bayer Consumer Health. Currently, China has transformed from ‘manufacturing’ to ‘smart manufacturing’ and is a global leader in innovation. Many of our innovations have already reached overseas markets.”
Li Xiaomeng disclosed two cases with industrial significance: First, a probiotic product jointly developed by Bayer and Jiangnan University, after clinical validation in China, has been exported to the Asia-Pacific market for about three years. Second, a product jointly developed with Sirio Pharma, after a successful domestic launch, is planned to be launched in Australia in November of this year. “In two years, we will see many products developed in collaboration with local Chinese companies being launched overseas.”
As the status of the Chinese market continues to rise, Bayer recently further announced the establishment of its Consumer Health China Center for Innovation Cooperation (CCIP) in Shandong.
Behind this lies a clear industrial strategic shift: Over the past two decades, the typical role of multinational pharmaceutical R&D centers in China was “local adaptation”—adjusting formulations, managing registrations, and conducting market launches for globally mature products. However, multinational consumer health giants are now redefining China from a “cost center” and “sales terminal” into a “technology export node” and “innovation source” within their global R&D networks.
This also means that products developed in China are no longer just “China-specific” but are entering Bayer’s global product portfolio and being exported to mature markets like Europe and the United States.
Connecting the Lab to the Shelf
Over the past decade, pharmaceutical innovation in China has undergone a profound “efficiency revolution.” Leveraging its systemic capabilities of “more, faster, and cheaper,” it has evolved from a follower in the global innovation system to a significant emerging force.
According to data disclosed by industry consulting firms, the number of innovative drug molecules entering clinical trials annually in China has surpassed that of the United States, achieving breakthroughs in multiple fields such as respiratory, immunology, and cardiovascular diseases. This advantage stems from the cost and speed advantages in the end-to-end R&D chain—the cost of the drug discovery phase is only 20% to 30% of that in the US, preclinical development costs are cut by more than half, and the large patient base and concentrated hospital network allow for significantly faster clinical trial enrollment.
In the consumer health sector, the trend of efficiency improvement is equally notable. Dr. Thorsten Umland, Vice President of R&D for the Digestive Category at Bayer Consumer Health, provided a timeline to illustrate this shift in efficiency: In December 2024, Bayer signed a development agreement for a new product with a local company, and it was launched in May 2025—achieving commercialization from R&D in just six months. “This is truly a record for us,” he said.
Behind this “China speed” is a redefinition of China’s R&D role by multinational pharmaceutical companies: China is not only the world’s second-largest market but also a testing ground with the shortest global innovation cycles, the most active technological breakthroughs, and the most intensive industry-university-research transformations.
The term “industry-university-research” has been overused domestically, but the CCIP model in Shandong has its unique industrial aspects. Li Xiaomeng pointed out the fundamental pain point of traditional industry-university-research models: “Everyone knows that universities have a lot of scientific research, but it is not driven by commercialization. On the other hand, companies cannot invest many personnel in researching products that may not be marketable or that may not generate consumer interest.”
The disconnect lies in the fact that universities’ KPIs are papers and
