During the past century the centre of medical research and excellence was indisputably America and Europe. That is about to change.
China is offering opportunities that the old regime is unable to match. It has a population of 2.8 billion people - living under the most rudimentary system of medical health. The GDP of the country is a mere $ 7600 per head - making access to advanced medicine out of reach of most people.
Restrictions on drug research are not measured by the stance of the church or those with ethical viewpoints. A Communist government is not restricted by the need of maintaining consensus or being voted out of power. The brakes are off when it comes to advancing science.
In this atmosphere the big western drug companies are seeing opportunities denied them in their home bases. Not only does China offer trained technicians at a fraction of the cost in the western world but there is an unlimited supply of eager patients willing to undergo testing of new drugs - in the hope of a cure for their own ailments.
The one drawback has been the Chinese unwillingness to accept the legality of intellectual property rights - but even that is now changing. In the past, Chinese entrepreneur's have been eager to knockoff western innovations for quick profits, but the boot will be on the other foot when those innovations have been created in China - and they need protection from the producers in other low cost countries !
The benefit to the world will be accelerated progress in the area of new drugs and new medical breakthroughs. The moral restrictions of the west do not apply in China - and in coming decades we will see that country leading medical advances !
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