Govt urges more support for generic drug studies

BEIJING: The General Office of the State Council has issued a document to further encourage the research and development of generic drugs.

The document, titled “Opinions regarding reforming and perfecting policies in the supply and usage of generic drugs”, said such research was needed to lower healthcare costs, meet the public’s demands and build a “healthy China”.

To meet the urgent demand for high-quality generic drugs, the medical authority was told to regularly publish lists of generic drugs in need, bring related research projects into national plans and improve the current protection system for intellectual property rights, according to the document.

The quality and efficiency of generic drugs needs to be supervised and improved, said the document.

It also called for more policy support to expedite the process of putting more high-quality generic drugs into clinical use.

With more support for research and development, registration of Chinese-made generic drugs and marketing of drugs in the global market, companies would be encouraged by the government to carry out international cooperation, the document added.

“Developing generic drugs has huge economic and social significance to the country as they lower medical expenditure and improve the accessibility of drugs and the medical service level,” said an official with China’s National Health Commission.

From 2011 to 2015, a total of 323 “innovative” drugs were approved for clinical research in China. — Xinhua