Chinese companies in $5.2bn healthcare acquisition spree

Chinese companies have announced more than $5.2 billion of overseas health-care acquisitions this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, a fifteen-fold jump from 2012. Among the most prominent deals, Humanwell Healthcare Group, a Chinese maker of anesthetics and contraceptives, bought US-based generic drug maker Epic Pharma for $550 million. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, backed by Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang, agreed to buy Indian drugmaker Gland Pharma for about $1.3 billion, gaining drug factories that supply to the US. Chinese drugmakers still face challenges making global deals because they are up against larger international rivals. Many are still unknown entities overseas and must prove to sellers that they have the financial wherewithal to close the deal.