Tough new rules from China’s State Council have put the country’s one million medical reps into limbo as their employers scrabble to get to grips with broad curbs on sales activities.

2016 was again another busy year on the commercial front in China, with market changes, new regulations, and ongoing pricing pressures all affecting the pharma sector. Meanwhile, the push for licensing deals, innovation, and international expansion continued apace.

One year after the first cases of a novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, a team from the World Health Organization has arrived in the city to investigate its origin. Meanwhile, mixed results are reported for some of the leading Chinese vaccines being developed to fight the pandemic still wreaking global havoc.