China is making more of the medicines it uses. Given the 10 years or more it typically takes to bring a new medicine to market, original “Made in China” treatments won’t arrive overnight, but multinationals are already encountering more competition from local generic drugs that look set for a quantum leap in quality. The stakes are high. China is the world’s second-biggest medicine market behind the United States, and fast food, smoking and pollution have fueled a rise in cancers and chronic diseases. The country also has more diabetics than any other country in the world, with numbers expected to hit 151 million by 2040, up from 110 million today. By 2010, Denmark’s Novo Nordisk dominated 63% of China’s insulin market, but it has been losing ground to local rivals, who are selling both cut-price basic insulin as well as sophisticated modern versions. The top 10 Chinese drugmakers increased sales averaging 12% this year, according to IMS Consulting – twice the rate of multinationals. Selling drugs to patients at a hefty mark-up often accounts for 40% to 50% of Chinese hospitals’ revenues, but the authorities are now pushing a zero mark-ups policy, the South China Morning Post reports.