(Yicai Global) Oct. 10 -- As the second-largest pharmaceutical consumption market in the world after the US, China's further opening has lured many multinational medical companies to up their ante in the country and further explore its market.

The First China International Import Expo, which will run in Shanghai in November, will draw companies from more than 100 countries and regions, including many global medicine mammoths. With the expo now entering its final countdown, multinational medicinal concerns are hard at work on their displays.

From drugs for rare diseases to personalized treatment, pharmaceutical companies like France's Sanofi, Swiss Roche Holding, and the US-based Johnson & Johnson will grandstand their latest technology at the fair.

The CIIE will set a key stage for multinational pharmaceutical firms to flex. These companies hope that the CIIE will further improve their industrial positioning in China.

For years, new drugs have been slow to reach patients, with some superior foreign ones gaining access to the Chinese market only with great difficulty. The lengthy approval process is seen as the root of the problem. The situation has greatly improved, however, as the government is revamping the approval system and spurring innovation of drugs and medical equipment to afford the entire sector unprecedented and historic development opportunities.

As one of the top three multinational pharmaceutical company in China, Sanofi is a leader in chronic diseases and vaccines. The company will focus on three facets at the CIIE, a Sanofi China executive told Yicai Global. The first will be groundbreaking innovative drugs and vaccines undergoing development, especially those for rare and chronic diseases and next-generation vaccines. The second will be innovative integrated medical solutions. The third will be multi-dimensional collaborative projects running through the entire health ecosystem.

The development of China's bioengineering and pharma industry is drawing great attention. Roche Global and Roche Diagnostics will jointly take part in the exhibition, an executive with Roche Holding told Yicai Global. The firm hopes to present its personalized medical treatment solutions more comprehensively via the CIIE's open platform, thus fulfilling individualized needs for medical health.

Johnson & Johnson China is happy to introduce its world-leading diversified innovative products and technologies into China, a company executive told Yicai Global. The company focuses on patients' most urgent medical and health needs. Many of its leading pharma and medical equipment products will go on display, with very many staging their China debut.

UK-Sweden-based AstraZeneca's China unit will intensively exhibit innovative projects it has landed in the country and share the convenience and effectiveness of its integrated holistic management solutions for diagnosis and treatment to key disease therapies with the public audience, an executive told Yicai Global.

Editor: Ben Armour