The government work report mentions innovative drugs for the first time. What information does it convey that innovative drugs are attracting attention?

　　Government work report mentions innovative drugs for the first time 

What information does the attention of innovative drugs convey?

　　Seven leaders of the world's top pharmaceutical companies gave one minute each to express their suggestions on the "development of China's health industry", and five of them mentioned innovative drugs.

　　This scene appeared at a seminar at the China Development Forum recently. Because there was still plenty of time, Li Jianwei, the host of the seminar and director of the Social and Cultural Development Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, added a discussion session on the spot and invited the CEOs of seven pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Sinopharm, and AstraZeneca, to speak on the 1st "Talk about the most important advice" within minutes.

　　Novartis CEO Van Sihan said “it is necessary to accelerate the research and development of innovative drugs.” Bristol-Myers Squibb CEO Bokos called for “redefining innovative drugs.” Sinopharm Chairman Liu Jingzhen suggested “improving the system to encourage the development of innovative drugs.” Mechanisms and policies." Takeda Pharmaceutical President Wei Boko said that "protecting intellectual property rights can encourage innovation"... "Innovative drugs" became a high-frequency word in this group of speeches.

　　This year's government work report mentioned for the first time accelerating the development of innovative drugs and other industries, and also mentioned actively creating new growth engines such as biomanufacturing and opening up new tracks in life sciences. The pharmaceutical industry generally believes that this is a national-level effort to promote China's transformation from a large pharmaceutical production country to a powerful pharmaceutical country.

　　Wan Sihan specifically mentioned this in his speech. He believed that the Chinese government has listed the biopharmaceutical industry as a key area for developing new productive forces, which highlights the key role of innovation in this field in promoting economic growth and social progress.

　　Regarding the growth potential of China's innovative drug research and development, Bi Jingquan, deputy director of the Economic Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, mentioned a set of data: Since 2011, China has approved more than 500 new drugs for marketing, accounting for 14% of the world's total. There are more than 3,500 new drug projects under development, accounting for 33% of the world's total. There were 44 cases of multinational companies purchasing R&D projects of Chinese companies in 2022, with a transaction volume of US$27.5 billion. Since 2023, there have been more than 70 cases, with a transaction volume of nearly more than US$40 billion.

　　Bi Jingquan emphasized that innovative drugs include innovations that can solve unmet clinical needs and are the first in the world to fill gaps; clinical research results prove that they are more effective and have fewer side effects than existing standard treatment drugs; although their efficacy and safety are equivalent , but innovations that can break monopolies, promote competition, and give patients more choices.

　　China's emphasis on innovative drugs is also reflected in many specific aspects. Bi Jingquan said that in recent years, the speed of innovative drugs entering the medical insurance reimbursement catalog has greatly accelerated, and obstacles to entering hospitals are gradually being eliminated. On January 22 this year, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Pudong New Area Comprehensive Reform Pilot Implementation Plan (2023-2027)", proposing a series of pilot policies and measures for the development of the innovative pharmaceutical industry.

　　Focusing on "improving the ecological environment for the development of the innovative drug industry", Bi Jingquan's suggestions include: deepening the understanding of the clinical value of innovative drugs, strengthening basic research in life sciences, reforming the price formation mechanism of innovative drugs and medical insurance payment methods, and studying the establishment of a basic medical security system for the elderly. , Deepen the reform of the compensation mechanism for public hospitals, further improve the drug review and approval system, effectively implement various policies for intellectual property protection, and strengthen international cooperation on innovative drugs.

　　He remembered that the CEO of Eli Lilly in the United States showed him the first "Eli Lilly" insulin prescription issued by Peking Union Medical College Hospital in 1923; Bayer's aspirin began to be produced in China in 1936; Merck & Co. in 1989 Hepatitis B vaccine production technology was transferred to China in 2016. At the same time, artemisinin, arsenic trioxide and all-trans retinoic acid discovered by Chinese scientists to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia have also made important contributions to world medicine and human welfare.

　　"Biomedicine is a cause that benefits all mankind. It is necessary to encourage international exchanges between scientists, the medical community and biomedicine companies, and promote the global flow of production factors. It is necessary to study the relaxation of medical market access and promote international cooperation in biomedicine." Bi Jingquan said.

　　Pfizer CEO and Chairman Ai BoLe has studied the "Healthy China 2030" Planning Outline. When talking with Li Daokui, an economist and professor at the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University, Ai BoLe said that Pfizer will continue to innovate. Strengthening cooperation with China in drug research and development is not only because China has a huge market, but also because China has launched "strong policies" in the field of health and "strong predictability of the future."

　　Abel said that Pfizer wants to build very close ties with China's scientific research institutions and biopharmaceutical ecosystem, and also because he believes that China will be at the forefront of biotechnology and bioinnovation within a few years.

　　In Ai BoLe's view, the types of diseases that require innovative drugs include not only cancer, AIDS, mental diseases, and many "never seen before" diseases. The causes of some diseases are still in the hypothetical stage, and everyone needs to work hard to find solutions. In addition to the continuous development of biotechnology, artificial intelligence technology is also changing the way of R&D, experimentation, and production in the pharmaceutical industry.

　　"Take Pfizer's oral COVID-19 drug as an example. It used to take about 4 years to go on the market. Because it uses artificial intelligence technology to design drug molecules, it now takes 4 months to complete testing and verification." Ai BoLe said, "Innovation involves a lot of things. The elements need to go hand in hand to truly bring success.”

　　Bi Jingquan believes that China has favorable conditions for developing the innovative drug industry, such as huge market potential, abundant and high-quality labor resources, abundant clinical research resources, and the review and approval system is basically in line with international standards. In 2017, the Chinese Food and Drug Administration has become a member of the International Conference for Harmonization of Technology for the Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH), and all ICH technical guidelines have been converted into domestic guiding principles.

　　China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Qin Zhenzi Ma Yuping Source: China Youth Daily