Simcere Pharmaceutical Group's forty-two generic drugs included in China's Essential Drug List

Aug 24 2009

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (NYSE: SCR) ("Simcere" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer and supplier of branded generic and innovative pharmaceuticals in China, today announced that forty-two of its generic drugs have been included in China's Essential Drug List ("EDL"), which was issued by China's Ministry of Health ("MOH") on August 18, 2009.

In the 2009 second quarter earnings conference call, the Company announced that seven of its generics entered China's EDL. These seven medicines are branded generics, which are currently manufactured with significant sales or large market potential. The other generics comprising the forty-two medicines are seldom manufactured or have had insignificant sales in recent years.

The EDL issued by the MOH consists of 307 essential medicines that will be given priority for basic healthcare. All of these medicines will be included in the National Medical Insurance Catalog. The insurance reimbursement rate of these medicines will be higher than other medicines. Simcere is one of China's pharmaceutical companies with the largest number of generics in China's EDL.

Mr. Jinsheng Ren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, commented, "We are delighted to have forty-two of Simcere's generics included in China's Essential Drug List. While maintaining our focus on first-to-market and innovative drugs, we will evaluate market opportunities to update our strategy in generics sales to leverage the opportunities presented by the Essential Drugs List. We are confident that Simcere will benefit from China's ongoing healthcare reform over the mid-to-long term."