Eye health, despite being essential for most of us in our daily lives, receives significantly less research funding than fields like cancer or diabetes. According to IQVIA, global spending on oncology is expected to reach USD 440 billion by 2028, while ophthalmology will see just USD 38 billion. However, conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy are increasingly prevalent and can have severe consequences, driven by aging populations, rising obesity and diabetes rates, and increased screen time. At the same time, advancements in diagnostics are enabling earlier detection of these diseases.
These trends are being reflected in China, with an increase in the prevalence of ophthalmological diseases set to see the Chinese eye health market more than double from USD 4.51 billion in 2022 to approximately USD 9.47 billion by 2031. Some of the world’s biggest pharmas, cognizant of this, are now investing heavily in ophthalmology, including in China. Santen, on the other hand, has had a singular focus on this niche for over a century, and can date its history in China back to 1913. Now established as the firm’s second-largest country market, China is also home to two of Santen’s advanced manufacturing facilities, one of which is the largest eye-care drug production plant in the world.
Santen’s Corporate Officer and China Head Shawn Xiang elaborates that the Chinese ophthalmology market stands out for its “extraordinary growth potential and substantial unmet medical needs. Conditions such as myopia, dry eye, back-of-the-eye diseases, and glaucoma represent vast areas of opportunity.”
Vast areas of opportunity mean that there are significant gaps in access to eye care in China as it stands today. “Although China has the world’s largest population of glaucoma patients, there are only about 500 glaucoma specialists nationwide, which often leads to late diagnoses or misdiagnoses,” posits Xiang. “Public awareness further compounds the issue,” he adds. “In the case of glaucoma, early symptoms are often subtle or non-existent, leading many individuals to remain unaware of their condition until it has advanced significantly. This delay not only impacts patient outcomes but also places a substantial burden on the healthcare system.”
Filling these gaps in China cannot be achieved via plug-and-play strategies that have worked elsewhere because, as Xiang points out, China’s eye care market distinctly differs from many of its international counterparts. “Unlike conventional markets where treatment decisions are largely dictated by healthcare providers, conditions such as myopia and dry eye in China often involve patients playing an active role in their care choices,” he states. “This dynamic creates opportunities to innovate and build new business models that align closely with consumer needs and preferences, creating substantial opportunities in retail, e-commerce, and over-the-counter (OTC) channels.”
This has led Santen to introduce a customised ‘China 2.0’ strategy, underpinned by the REACH framework. The five pillars of REACH are Retail (increasing presence in offline pharmacy networks), E-commerce, Ahead (utilising initiatives like the Greater Bay Area Early Access Program to accelerate new drug introduction), Contract Sales Organization (collaborating with external sales partners to extend geographical and market reach) and Hospital (maintaining Santen’s traditional footprint in prescription-driven hospital channels).
Xiang reflects that the opportunity to redraw the boundaries of eye health in China is immense. “Taken together, the market potential, Santen’s proven track record, and the chance to pioneer transformative approaches to patient care were the key reasons I was drawn to this role,” he concludes.
