On February 26th, the R&D-based Pharmaceutical Association Committee (RDPAC) announced its interim Executive Committee Bureau.
Jean-Christophe POINTEAU, current Chairman of RDPAC and Sanofi China Country Chair, was recently appointed Sanofi Genzyme Europe Region Head and will therefore step down from his RDPAC Chairman position effective 1st March 2019.
The members of RDPAC Executive Committee elected Asgar RANGOONWALA, President of Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical as Chairman, Hong Chow, General Manager of Roche Pharma China and Dirk van NIEKERK, Head of Human Pharma Greater China Region of Boehringer Ingelheim as Vice-Chairs, effective on 1st March 2019. The general managers of RDPAC 43 member companies will elect a new Executive Committee – including a new Chairman and two Vice-Chairs – in September 2019 during the association’s next biannual general elections.
In the last couple of years China has made great strides in accelerating the transformation of its healthcare system. Under Pointeau’s RDPAC chairmanship reforms to China’s regulatory framework have led to greater flexibility in the drug development process, easier participation in simultaneous global drug development and, greater harmonization with international regulatory standards. The industry has further been encouraged by the updates made to China’s pricing and reimbursement system resulting in better accessibility and affordability of imported drugs and; enhanced management of rare diseases
The RDPAC Executive Committee will continue to drive the association’s agenda and industry’s priorities. The 2019 RDPAC interim Executive Committee is structured as follows:
Chairman:
Asgar RANGOONWALA / Xian Janssen
Vice Chairs:
Hong CHOW / Roche
Dirk van NIEKERK / Boehringer Ingelheim
Members:
Julio GAY-GER / Eli Lilly
Rogier JANSSENS / Merck Serono
JIANG Wei / Bayer
MIAO Tianxiang / Pfizer
Joseph ROMANELLI / MSD
Sean SHAN / Takeda
WU Xin / UCB
Ingrid ZHANG / Novartis
(Members listed alphabetically by their last name)
“I would like to congratulate RDPAC Chairman-elect and Vice-Chairs. Their extensive experience and strong leadership will be instrumental in furthering and implementing RDPAC forward-looking strategy. In the past two years, RDPAC has strengthened its advocacy capacities in order to better support the transformation of China’s healthcare ecosystem and improve patients’ access to innovative drugs.” said Jean-Christophe POINTEAU, the current RDPAC Chairman.
“I would like to thank all RDPAC members for their trust and support.” said Asgar RANGOONWALA, the RDPAC Chairman-elect. “China has reached a momentous stage in its development. Innovation-driven growth serves as its key strategy, and people’s livelihood serves as its foundation, which is aligned with our industry’s goals. RDPAC Vice-Chairs, myself and the Executive Committee aim to strengthen interactions between industry peers to support the government in realizing reform and innovation, as well as building a patient-centric healthcare innovation ecosystem in China.”
The R&D-based Pharmaceutical Association Committee (RDPAC) is a committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (CAEFI). It is a non-profit organization made up of 43 member companies with pharmaceutical R&D capabilities. Between them, RDPAC members have 49 plants and 31 R&D centers in China. They invest over RMB 8 billion per year in R&D in China. RDPAC members are providing high-quality and innovative healthcare products and service to Chinese patients and committed to be a valued partner in delivering the “Healthy China” goal to improve the health and quality of life of the people in China.
