Novartis finds prescription for success in China

The China market functions as an indispensable growth engine for the international business of Switzerland-based Novartis, and the pharmaceutical company expects to maintain double-digit growth in China over the next two years, said a senior company executive.

Novartis achieved a growth of 17 percent in China, the second-largest pharmaceutical market worldwide, last year, making it one of the fastest-growing drugmakers in the country. In the first three months, its quarterly sales revenue in China hit $1 billion for the first time.

"This showed that we're growing even more than last year," said Patrick Horber, president of the international unit for Novartis, during an exclusive interview in Shanghai on Wednesday.