CHINA LEX PHARMA NEWSLETTER
Vol. 1, No. 25 - November 8, 2000
TOPICS THIS WEEK:
- Illegal Pharma Ads Still Trouble Government
- Servier Invests in Tianjin
- China to Lower Retail Price of Some Medicines
- China's Biggest Private Hospital Financed
- More HIV Carriers in China
Illegal Pharma Ads Still Trouble Government
According to data compiled by the All-China Advertising Monitoring Center, illegal advertising in China dropped considerably in September. The Center, commissioned by the Advertising Supervising Department under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce gathered data from sixty newspapers at or above the provincial level.
The report shows that illegal advertising in September, compared with that in August, was down 11 percent in terms of total numbers and 0.7 percent lower in terms of percentage among all the published ads. September's figures were down 25 percent in terms of numbers and 6.7 percent lower in percentage of total ads, compared with illegal advertising in July.
There was also a significant decline in illegal advertising in the medical services, pharmaceuticals and health-food sectors, all of which are closely monitored by advertisement-supervising agencies. But illegal advertising for medical services and pharmaceuticals still topped other illegal ads, accounting for 41 percent and 24 percent respectively of all illegal advertising cases.
(Source: ChinaOnline)
Servier Invests in Tianjin
As part of a joint venture with the Huajin Pharmaceutical Factory, the French company Servier has invested EUR 5.5 million in a manufacturing facility in in Tianjin. Servier and Huajin Pharmaceutical have been partners for over ten years in producing Servier's antidiabetic drug, Diamicron. The number of people with type II diabetes in China is expected to triple between 2000-2010 to 30 million.
The new 3,800 square meter unit, which will eventually have a capacity of 36 million packs per year, expects to produce 10 million packs of the drug this year.
In 1979, Servier Research Group became the first French laboratory to set up in China. Currently, Servier is establishing an international therapeutic research center that will not only develop drugs produced in France for the world market, but also new therapeutic compounds from drugs developed in China. Five new drugs from Servier's research should be registered in China before 2001.
(Source: Chemical Business Newsbase)
China to Lower Retail Price of Some Medicines
According to a statement issued Friday, November 3, by the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC), the Chinese government will lower the retail price of some locally-made medicines in an effort to reduce people's medical burden and guarantee smooth medical insurance and system reform.
The price cut varies from 20 to 60 percent, covering 120 varieties of drugs worth RMB two billion, including talampicillin.
Sector insiders attribute the price cut mainly to the price decrease in raw material-based medicines, expansion of pharmaceutical production, and stiff market competition.
China has so far cut medicine prices three times this year, an SDPC official said, adding that the SDPC will intensify supervision over drugs market and lower retail prices for medicines that have more room for price cuts.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
China's Biggest Private Hospital Financed
Wanjie Hospital, the largest private hospital in China and located in Zibo city of Shandong province, recently received a loan of US $15 million from the International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group.
The loan is the first investment of International Finance Corp. in China's medical sector, and will be used by Wanjie Hospital to purchase advanced cancer treatment equipment. The loan agreement between the two parties was signed on October 24, 2000 in Beijing.
The International Finance Corp. has provided nearly 40 loans in China, investing more than US $1 billion across the country.
(Source: Homeway Financial News)
More HIV Carriers in China
The number of HIV carriers in China increased 37.3 percent compared with the same period of last year, though many cases remain unreported.
Most of the HIV carriers are young, male and rural, and contraction during illegal drug use was the main source of infection. Chinese authorities are urged to strictly prohibit illegal blood collection and provide specific education for drug users.
(Source: China News Service)
The China Lex Pharma Newsletter is intended to be used for news purposes only. It should not be taken as comprehensive legal advice, and Lehman, Lee & Xu will not be held responsible for any such reliance on its contents.
Lehman Lee & Xu
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(formerly known as the L&A Law Firm)
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Tel.: (86)(10) 6532-3861
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http://www.chinalaw.cc/
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