That’s the indication after interviews were conducted with 185 execs from different drugmakers, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. More of just about every activity will shift over there, but particularly a larger portion of research and development, and manufacturing. The survey participants, by the way, included execs from big pharma as well as local players with operations in China, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

“I don’t see anything that will stem this tide. It’s a trend. It’s just a question of when,” says Dan Bartholomew, a senior managing director who heads PwC’s life sciences practice on the west coast. “Although I could see certain research activities, such as the human genome, remaining here near universities or biotech centers. Just like with the automotive industry, not everything moved over here.”

There are issues, though. The recent headlines from China over product safety - from food to toys - will make pharma execs skittish about many things made in Asia. “There’s going to be a natural cautiousness when it comes to manufacturing,” says Bartholomew, “particularly in China.” However, the trend toward doing more research and development in Asia will continue irrespective of the debate over pricing or US government pricing policies, he notes.

You can the view the report with this link. Here are some key findings:

- 55 percent of multinational companies (MNCs) and 62 percent of domestic pharma believe Asia will eclipse North America and Europe.

- One-third of MNCs have immediate plans to further expand within the region through acquisitions or their own sites;

- Corruption is regarded as inescapable with 67 percent of the companies saying that it’s an endemic part of the landscape and they don’t expect it to be eliminated soon;

- More than half of domestic companies are worried about unfair competition from generic brands and more than 75 percent of MNCs worry about intellectual property rights and legal risk;

- However, 63 percent of MNCs are optimistic or very optimistic that IP rights will improve over the next five years;

- Manufacturing is more likely to be outsourced by MNCs in the region; 30 percent do finished manufacturing and 15 percent do API manufacturing;

- 34 percent of domestic companies are looking for acquisitions; and 36 percent would consider selling all or part of their company to foreign investors in order to raise funds;

- 48 percent of Indian drugmakers were considering acquisitions compared to 31 percent in Singapore and just 17 percent of Chinese companies. In turn, 46 percent of Chinese companies and 44 percent of Singaporean companies were open to foreign investment in their companies compared to just 20 percent of the Indian companies;

- 74 percent of domestic drugmakers consider exporting outside their local market as an important objective;

- One-third of MNCs are planning to acquire a domestic company, enter into a new joint venture or set up a new greenfield operation within the next 12 months;