CHINA LEX PHARMA LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 2 , No.26 - October 11, 2001
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- Overcharging Hospitals in China Punished
- Akzo Nobel Extends Service Contract with Data3 for the Asia-Pacific Region
- Tibetan Medicine Company Earns GMP Certification
- Age of Chinese Sufferers of Hypertension Becoming Younger
- Glaxosmithkline Joint Venture in Western China Expanding
- List of China GMP Facilities (Continued)
Overcharging Hospitals in China Punished
An official with the State Development Planning Commission of China (SDPC) reported that approximately 20,000 cases of illegal overcharging by hospitals involving RMB 1.3 billion (US $157.2 million) have been investigated in China since the beginning of this year.
At a press conference in Beijing on Friday 28 September, the Deputy Director-General of the SDPC Price Inspection Department Li Zengqi announced that 11 hospitals have already been punished for their illegal overcharging, with RMB 25,845,600 (US $3,125,000) in illicit income confiscated.
Li said that although the government has frequently reiterated that hospitals are prohibited from overcharging patients, some hospitals are still raising prices of medicine, medical services and disposable products for medical use.
According to the SDPC, in a bid to relieve patients' financial burdens, the Chinese government has fixed maximum prices for over 1,000 types of medicine, and since 1997 has reduced fixed prices on 10 occasions. In doing so, patients have saved an estimated RMB 18 billion (US $2.2 billion) in medical expenses.
Li said that price administrating bodies at various levels should continue to examine prices of medicine and medical services and punish violators by giving warnings, confiscating illegal incomes, imposing fines and revoking licenses.
Li Lei, deputy director of the SDPC Price Department, said the Chinese government is exploring new ways of regulating medical prices in the market economy. Li suggested that medical treatment and medicine sales should be managed separately, the medical insurance system should be improved, and laws be perfected.
(Source: BBC Worldwide Monitoring)
Akzo Nobel Extends Service Contract with Data3 for the Asia-Pacific Region
Technology services company, Data3 has announced the renewal of its management service contract with Akzo Nobel in the Asia-Pacific region for another year. With the extensions of the service for the Australia region, the combined worth of the contracts is over US $1 million per year.
Akzo Nobel has a number of large service contracts, those signed this year alone worth more than US $4 million. It has entered into contracts with Nanjang Organon Pharmaceutical Company in China, International All Sports, International Coatings, Boots Healthcare Australia, Adsteam Agencies and the National Occupational Health & Safety Commission.
Mr. Zak Ali, Akzo Nobel's Manager of Information for Marine Protective Coating and Manager of Information Technology Infrastructure, said the contract was renewed because of Data3's high level of service. He said: "it was a competitive contract but Data3 won our business because it is like an extension of our company. They have a thorough knowledge of our IT infrastructure."
Akzo Nobel, based in the Netherlands, is one of the world's largest healthcare, coatings and chemical companies. It has branches in 80 countries and is represented in 16 countries throughout the Asia-Pacific and Australian regions.
Mr Ali said "the benefits of a managed IT infrastructure service for the business include standardization and commonality of configuration across the region." Data 3 provides remote management services for the Wide Area Network (WAN), Virtual Private Network (VPN), firewall and all servers for the Asia-Pacific region.
(Source: Australian Associated Press)
Tibetan Medicine Company Earns GMP Certification
The Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd. of Tibet has passed the good manufacturing practice (GMP) authentication, marking significant progress in Tibetan medicine quality control.
The company was built on the basis of the former Tibetan Medicine Plant with RMB 76 million provided by Jiangsu Province in 1996. The company only recently changed to the current name last month.
The company sent roughly 20 workers and technicians to the cities of Chongqing, Chengdu and Kunming in 2000 to learn advanced techniques. The Tibetan Medicine Company also began a GMP training course and dealt with 1,006 GMP documents. The company has invested RMB 2.7 million in upgrading workshops, laboratories and equipment.
Currently, the company annually produces 60 million capsules, 30 million bags of powdered medicine and 18 million bottles of liquids.
Xu Xiankui, the company's deputy director, said his company will strictly abide by GMP standards and continue to progress in medicine quality control.
(Source: BBC News)
Age of Chinese Sufferers of Hypertension Becoming Younger
Hypertension is now posing a risk to the health of the younger generations in China due to negligence of healthy life styles and preventive measures, according to health experts.
Vice Minister of Health Peng Yu said at a ceremony to mark the fourth National Hypertension Day that the incidence of hypertension is on the rise in China, while the average age of patients is becoming younger and more rural residents are falling ill. More than 100 million people are suffering from high blood pressure in China. Risk factors of the disease are obesity, high level of blood cholesterol, high salt-intake, smoking, and little physical exercise.
Peng noted that research has shown that 75 percent of hypertension cases and relevant syndromes could be prevented if healthy life styles, early prevention or regular treatment were adopted. She said China should follow the successful examples of the United States, Finland, Australia and Japan, where nationwide campaigns of health education have helped to lower the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.
A survey by the Ministry of Health (MOH) showed that many Chinese people, especially those aged between 35 and 44, were still unaware of the significance of disease prevention. Surprisingly, the survey also indicated that less than 30 percent of patients obtained correct information from their doctors.
Beginning in 2000 the MOH has initiated various activities to help educate the public about the prevention of hypertension. Free classes have been held in Beijing and Shanghai for hypertension specialists.
Some doctors offering the classes received an award jointly presented by the MOH and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a Sino-U.S. joint venture producing and selling hypertension drugs in China.
Hu Dayi, a doctor at the Beijing People's Hospital., said that many patients have learned correct ways of controlling high blood pressure through attending classes, which has provided a successful model for prevention and control of chronic diseases in China.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
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Glaxosmithkline Joint Venture in Western China Expanding
GlaxoSmithkline's first joint venture in China is stepping up efforts to expand investment and localize material production to mark its ten-year operation here.
The massive potential of China's western region and the important status of Chongqing have driven the world's leading pharmaceuticals giant to invest in this southwestern municipality, said Chen Keqin, general manager of GlaxoSmithkline Pharmaceuticals (Chongqing) Ltd. "We have made the right choice," said Chen, "The company is making good profits, thanks to the support of the municipal government."
According to Chen, the joint venture plans to introduce new pharmaceuticals in the Chinese market, and produce toxicants and other materials in China.
In addition to Chongqing, GlaxoSmithkline has four other joint ventures in China, located in Tianjin, Suzhou and Shanghai.
Chongqing, an industrial and commercial base, is the largest recipient of overseas investment in western China.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
List of China GMP Facilities (Continued)
Name of Enterprise | Certified Scope |
201 Heilongjiang Sanqin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Tablet (Cephalosporin), Powder-Injection |
202 Dalian Meiluo Pharmaceutical Factory | Powder-Injection (Penicillin), Raw Materials Medicine, Freeze-dried Powder-Injection, Tablet, Capsule, Granule |
203 Datong Huida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
204 Xi'an Jingxi Pharmaceutical Factory | High Dose Injection |
205 Chengdu Tongde Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
206 Dongyao Group Dandong Qianjin Pharm. Co., Ltd. | Powder-Injection |
207 Sichuan Xuhua Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Tablet, Capsule, Granule |
208 Shangdong Fenghuang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Granule |
209 Shenyang Xinna Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Freeze-dried Powder-Injection, Granule |
210 Anhui Huanqiu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Powder-Injection (Penicillin), High Dose Injection |
211 Heilongjiang Qingan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
212 Jinan Biochemical Pharmaceutical Factory | Low Dose Injection, Freeze-dried Powder-Injection |
213 Mudanjiang Wenchun Shuanghe Pharma Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
214 Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection, Low Dose Injection |
215 Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Powder-Injection, Freeze-dried Powder-Injection |
216 Changchun Jixing Pharmaceutical Factory | High Dose Injection |
217 Weihai Medical Macromolecule Co., Ltd. | Anticoagulant Agent |
218 Chifeng Yongju Pharmaceutical Factory | High Dose Injection |
219 Harbin Bolier Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Powder-Injection (Cephalosporin) |
220 Heilongjiang Wandashan Pharmaceutical Factory | High Dose Injection, Low Dose Injection |
221 Shaaxi Jisheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
222 Xian Weixin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
223 Harbin White Swan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Freeze-dried Powder-Injection |
224 Ningxia Shasai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
225 Cixi Pharmaceutical Factory | High Dose Injection |
226 Ruian Pharmaceutical Factory | High Dose Injection |
227 Ningxia Pharmaceutical Factory | Raw Material (cyclopar), High Dose Injection |
228 Hubei Bafeng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
229 Beijing Minan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Freeze-dried Powder-Injection |
230 Henan Kaifeng Pharmaceutical Factory | Freeze-dried Powder-Injection |
231 Shijiazhuang Xinhua Pharmaceutical Factory | Capsule (Penicillin) |
232 Langfang Meibao Pharmaceutical Factory | Ointment (Including Hormones) |
233 Qingdao Guofeng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Tablet, Capsule, Granule |
234 Shenzhen Wanhe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Tablet, Capsule, Granule |
235 Zhengzhou Chemical Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Freeze-dried Powder-Injection, High Dose Injection |
236 Kangda Biochemical Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Freeze-dried Powder-Injection |
237 Roche Taishan (Shanghai) Vitamin Co., Ltd. | Raw Materials (Vitamin A) |
238 Tonghua Maoxiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Raw Materials, Powder-Injection (Penicillin) |
239 Hebei Fangyuan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
240 Guilin 2nd Pharmaceutical Factory | Powder-Injection (Penicillin, Cephalosporin) |
241 Sichuan Qili Tongxin Pharma Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
242 Henan Tianfang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
243 Guizhou Yikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Tablet | Capsule |
244 Chongqing Laimei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
245 Ningbo Tianheng Pharmaceutical Factory | Low Dose Injection |
246 Changzheng Pharmaceutical Factory | High Dose Injection |
247 Jinan Army Bio-product Pharma Research Institute | Freeze-dried Powder-Injection |
248 Shanghai Xinyi Jiahua Pharmaceutical Factory | Tablet, Capsule |
249 Beijing Kangnaike Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High Dose Injection |
250 Shengyang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd | b-lactamase |
Lehman Lee & Xu
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