China specializes in the aspect of modern technology such as solar panels to bullet trains. Now China will venture more on the participation of the development of its own drugs to cater to the aging population, according to Reuters.

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This move will be a great challenge to the country since an approved drug can take decades to develop.

However, multinationals have tight competition from China's local generic drugs whose quality can be at par with the high-end drugs.

The risks are high for China to gain an advantage in this move. China has already been ranked as the 2^nd largest drug manufacturer behind United State's leading rank.

In a prospective view, the demand for better medicine will increase due to other factors such as the increasing prevalence for cancer, chronic heart disease and lung diseases.

Pollution, smoking and fast food exacerbate these prevalent disease conditions.

China also has a rising rate of diabetes, with almost 151 million people projected to be diagnosed by 2020.

This statistical data has pushed the Denmark-based insulin producer Novo Nordisk, to further expand their market in China.

Novo Nordisk established their office in China in 1995 and have dominated approximately 63 percent of China's insulin market last 2010.

However, a lot of local drugs have gained the upper hand and Novo Nordisk reveals that it is slowly losing ground against the local competitors.

"China is going to be tough on us for the next couple of years," said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Chief Science Officer.

Local competitors have developed a more sophisticated version of the drug at a reduced price. Chinese biotech specialist Gan and Lee pharmaceuticals have developed a similar copy of the famous insulin drug, Lantus.

Increasing competition among local drugs is one of the upheavals in China's drug market dominated by hospitals.

Patients purchasing 'Western branded generics' at a huge mark-up price can contribute 40-50 percent of revenue in hospitals. This will soon be phased out as the authorities will implement a new policy of 'zero markups', which will take place in county hospitals.

Tagscure, ailing people, locally developed drugs