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The article reports that large Western drug companies are working on treatments for ailments prevalent in Asia. Pfizer Inc.'s facilities in China are trying to develop a drug for liver disease, while both Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. will collaborate with Chinese partners on drug development.

The article focuses on the prompt response by Asian governments to the new swine-flu virus drawing on lessons learned from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the bird-flu outbreaks. Among the actions taken by some Asian countries are quarantines and the installation of thermal scanners at airports. Hong Kong is cited as among the first to take legal steps that require doctors to report swine-flu cases to authorities.