CHINA LEX PHARMA LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 2 , No. 1 - January 4, 2001
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- New Year Brings Female Condom to China
- Guangzhou Pharmaceutical to Issue A-Shares
- World’s Largest Medical Facility to be Built in Beijing
- Premier Calls for Improvements to Social Security
- China Investigates Prostate Cancer Detection and Treatment
- Neptunus Lists Additional Shares
New Year Brings Female Condom to China
Chicago-based Female Health Company will be launching its star product, the Femidom, in China this year. The western-made prophylactic, also known as the Female Condom, has been registered worldwide and will be marketed to the Chinese over the Internet.
Female Health Company has teamed up with Duda Trading Development Company to assess the Chinese market and bring the Femidom to the home of the one-child policy.
The Female Condom is the only available product controlled by a woman that protects against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and unintended pregnancy.
China, where the one-child policy has been in place now for many years, will be researching the acceptability of the Femidom next year. A domestically manufactured version of the prophylactic has been available in China since 1998, but has not been highly popular among couples because they found it uncomfortable.
The Femidom may enjoy more success than its Chinese counterpart: Shanghai’s Municipal Commission for Population and Family Planning surveyed 30 married couples about Femidom use in 1998, and found that the majority preferred it to the male condom.
Price will be an obstacle to more widespread popularity in China, however. In a survey of Shanghai prostitutes, Duda found that although most would consider using the Femidom, they were concerned about the high price: the device costs about ten times the cost of a male condom in China.
The number of people infected with HIV in China is expected to double over the next decade, raising concerns that not enough is being done to raise public awareness of the disease and its causes. China’s first case of AIDS, the disease caused by HIV, was reported in 1985. An AIDS Prevention and Control center was established in 1998.
(Source: Agence France Presse)
Guangzhou Pharmaceutical to Issue A-Shares
One of China’s largest pharmaceutical companies has obtained approval from the Chinese government to issue A-shares.
The Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Company announced in a statement that it has obtained approval from both the securities commission and its shareholders to issue up to one hundred million A-shares, at no less than RMB7 each.
Net proceeds from the issue, estimated at almost RMB700 million, will be combined with internal resources and bank loans to finance several of the company’s investment projects.
(Source: AFX –Asia)
World’s Largest Medical Facility to be Built in Beijing
Beijing may become the home of the world’s largest medical facility if all goes smoothly: Taiwanese Chang Gung Memorial Hospital hopes to build three new hospital facilities in China, one each in Beijing, Fuzhou, and Xiamen.
Authorities in Beijing have approved the project, and have donated 148 hectares for the complex, located near Beijing’s Olympic Village and the mass transit system.
Construction is expected to begin this year, with a completion date in three years. The new hospital will increase the number of hospital beds in the Beijing by 5000, and will also house a medical center and affiliated nursing institute.
The hospitals planned for Fuzhou and Xiamen will each contain approximately 3000 beds, with affiliated nursing institutes sharing the 100-hectare properties.
(Source: Taiwan Central News Agency)
Premier Calls for Improvements to Social Security
China’s social security system may soon become the focus of new efforts at economic development and social stability. The issue was discussed at a recent conference on social security, attended by Premier Zhu Rongji.
China has developed its social security system over recent years to include medical and unemployment insurance systems, as well as pension plans and minimum living standards for urban residents.
The central government seeks to increase the number of sources used to raise social security funds, as well as to strictly monitor the use of the funds and improve management. Improvements to the system are considered crucial to national reforms and globalization.
The Premier called for the cooperation from governments at all levels in implementing the central government’s policies. One of the difficulties remaining with the system is not at the planning or legislative level, where details have been hammered out in recent years, but at the local levels, where many government authorities across the country have yet to enforce social insurance and other requirements.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
China Investigates Prostate Cancer Detection and Treatment
In an effort to reduce the rates of prostate cancer in its ageing population, China will be launching an investigation into the causes and possible cures for the disease. Research is to be conducted in the capital of Jilin Province, in China’s northeastern region.
The project, the first of its kind in China, involves surveying over 10,000 men over the age of 55. Medical examinations will officially begin in June of this year, although approximately 5000 examinations have already been completed.
One of the main goals of the project is to detect and cure prostate cancer at an early stage. In addition, researchers hope to find a radical cure for the disease, which is the second-largest medical killer of males after lung cancer.
The investigation is part of a joint agreement between the Chinese and Japanese governments to cooperate in the areas of prevention and new medicine development.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
Neptunus Lists Additional Shares
Shenzen’s Neptunus Bioengineering Company has listed additional A-Shares to its investors this week. Up to 69 million shares have been made available in an effort to strengthen the company before China’s accession to the WTO.
Seventy percent of the new shares are to be issued to online to retail investors, while the difference is earmarked for institutional investors and securities investment funds. The process has been underwritten by Southern Securities, according to the Nepunus’ general manager.
Neptunus expects to raise at least one billion RMB in proceeds from the issue, which will be used to finance seven of the company’s projects, including investment in the Beijing Ju Neng New Technology Industrial Company, a high-tech medical company.
Other projects include the establishment of a research and development center, development of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and improvements to company sales networks.
“It is of vital importance for Chinese medical enterprises to step up new product development and increase investment in technology and human resources,” said Zhang Simin, Neptunus board chairman. “Otherwise, the fierce competition brought by China’s WTO entry will put Chinese medical manufacturers in an inferior position.”
Neptunus first listed domestic A-shares on the Shenzhen market in 1998.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
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