China is a Growing Market for Hair Loss Treatment Medications
China is a fast growing market for anything from electronics devices to food products. The country’s huge population is a lucrative market waiting to be tapped. Although generally the Chinese people have very good hair, change in lifestyle habits, moving away from traditional methods of grooming etc. have started showing signs of acute hair loss and balding in men.
Men have started looking for Western treatment methods to combat this problem. Merck with its Propecia and Johnson & Johnson with its Rogaine hair loss control products have made a stunning entry into the Chinese market.
The market is still in its nascent stages as Western companies have started making their foray only recently. Also people are now more open to getting professional help for hair loss. Two years ago Merck initiated a program with the China Association of Health Promotion and Education for promoting the use of prescribed drugs for hair loss treatments.
In Beijing, hair loss treatment clinics are also witnessing brisk business since recent times. Baldness which was not taken seriously before is now considered a medical condition. People realize now that it needs to be treated as early as possible to arrest hair fall cost effectively without having to undergo surgical treatments.
Youngsters, college students and those looking for suitable jobs are keen on dealing with hair fall and baldness to enhance their prospects in life and work.
Propecia and generic versions of Rogaine are prescribed for male patients while women are prescribed generic forms of Pfizer’s Aldactone. According to Euromonitor reports, Da Fei Xin, a minoxidil solution made by Shanxi Zhendong Pharmaceutical has gained 23 percent of the market share.
Such Western medications are gaining
popularity as people have lost hope with locally available medications
and treatment methods which range from herbal concoctions to consuming
animal parts. Propecia and Rogaine are safer bets to such alternatives.
Other major contenders in the Chinese market are French company L’Oréal
and Australian company Cellmid.
Research findings show that 21 percent of men and 6 percent of women are affected by acute hair loss. Asian women have thick hair strands but lesser hair follicles. So when they start losing hair it is easily visible and can’t be concealed for long. The market for hair care products for women in china is also very huge, opine experts in the field.
Not only the buzzing metros of Beijing and Shanghai but tier-2 cities are also under the dragnet of pharmaceutical companies making hair care products, as these smaller cities will form the markets of tomorrow.
Hairfear - 6-21-2013
