CHINA HEALTH SCIENCES NEWSLETTER
Vol. 3 , No.9 - April 4, 2002
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- Import And Export Of Pharmaceutical Industry Rises 35%
- Results Of National Survey On The Use Of Cold Drugs
- Fake Viagra Manufacturers Sentenced
- Viral Genetics And NYIC Form JV To Treat AIDS In China
- Down's Syndrome Gene Thought To Be Identified
- List of China GMP Facilities (Continued)
Import And Export Of Pharmaceutical Industry Rises 35%
Compared to January 2001, the import and export value of China's pharmaceutical industry in January increased 35%.
The total value of pharmaceutical products imported into and exported out of China in January 2002 was approximately US$ 131 million. Imports were up 60% from last year amounting to US$ 21 million and exports increased 27.7% totaling US$ 110 million.
(Source: Asia Pulse)
Results Of National Survey On The Use Of Cold Drugs
In a recent survey of urban Chinese cold-sufferers, it was found that the majority of people prefer to take western medicine when treating the common cold.
In a massive study undertaken by the Central Television Research Company Ltd., urban residents in 21 large and medium-sized cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Chengdu, Xian and Wuhan, were surveyed about subjects ranging from consumers' knowledge about the common cold, influential factors in buying cold drugs and the popularity and use of major brands.
According to the results of the survey, it was discovered that urban families will choose western drugs and patent Chinese medicine to treat common colds. More than 80% of urban citizens aged 12 to 55 said they use western medicine when suffering from a cold. Medicine in tablet form was the first choice, with sweet syrup being the second most popular.
It was found that the average amount of money people would spend when buying drugs at a local clinic or hospital was roughly RMB 100.
85% of the people surveyed said that the most important consideration when buying cold medicine was the brand name. Price was also an important issue as 60% said they "might" buy cold drugs at a price of over RMB 10 per box.
The survey showed that the most popular brand names for cold drugs were White & Black, Gan Kang, Contac NT, Tylenol, and Bufferin. The majority of urban residents over the age of 12 years who had suffered from colds took White & Black, Gan Kang, Tylenol, Contac NT and Gan Mao Tong. Children under the age of 12 years mainly took Tylenol, Bufferin or a composite pseudoephedine syrup.
How consumers came to identify the brand names was also determined. 84% of the people who recognized the White & Black brand say advertisements was how they first heard about the brand. For Gan Kang, the number was 62%, Contact NT 58%, Tylenol 56% and Bufferin 35%.
An overwhelming majority of 94% of the people said they preferred taking drugs that did not make them sleepy.
Researchers said that although patent Chinese medicine does hold a market share, western drugs are the most popular and leading the market.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
Fake Viagra Manufacturers Sentenced
Chinese police have cracked an underground crime ring that was manufacturing millions of counterfeit Viagra pills to sell to impotent men in south-east China. Officers in the eastern province of Zhejiang seized half a million fake tablets of the anti-impotence drug and arrested 20 people.
Local police confiscated all the production equipment and 20,000 fake pills and managed to track down Mo Yunbiao, named as head of the crime ring. Mo Yunbiao was sentenced recently to 10 years in jail with a fine of RMB 700,000, while one of his main cohorts received a three-year sentence and a fine of RMB 600,000.
(Source: Herald Sun)
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Viral Genetics And NYIC Form JV To Treat AIDS In China
It was announced recently that Viral Genetics, Inc. and New York International Commerce Group, Inc. have entered into a Mutual Cooperation and Joint Venture Agreement to distribute Viral Genetics' therapeutic treatments to HIV and AIDS patients in China.
NYIC will assist Viral Genetics in securing a State Drug Administration (SDA) certification from the Chinese Government after which NYIC Group will have the exclusive distribution rights to Viral Genetics' TNP treatment in China.
The JV agreement comes after meetings in Beijing with senior Chinese health officials responsible for addressing the HIV/AIDS problem in China. Of the officials attending the series of meetings were a Major-General of the People's Liberation Army Ministry of Health, the Minister of the State Family Planning Commission, Director-General of China's Ministry of Health, top executives of the Chinese National Technology Import-Export Corporation, as well as the Viral Genetics and NYIC delegation.
Haig Keledjian, President and Chairman of Viral Genetics, said "we appreciate the opportunity that the NYIC Group provided to us to meet with health officials in China to discuss our protein therapies, and we were delighted with the reception our product received."
Speaking on the success of the TNP treatment, Mr. Keledjian said "based on the human clinical trials conducted to date by Viral Genetics, we have seen decreases in HIV viral load ranging from 80%-99% at up to 18 months post-treatment with our product. We have also seen significant increases in the level of HIV antibodies in subjects' systems, as well as increases in most subjects' overall weight. We are therefore eager to bring it to market, especially in countries such as China where growth in HIV infections is high relative to the rest of the world. We believe that the agreement with NYIC Group will enable us to achieve this."
It is estimated that the annual growth rate of new HIV infections in China is more than 30%. The United Nations has estimated that by 2010, there will be over 10 million AIDS sufferers in China.
With a population of 1.26 billion, and a present number of 600,000 estimated HIV infections, the infection rate is only 0.05%. This is a low number compared to other such as the USA, which has an infection rate of 0.6%, and certain African countries where infection rates can reach as high as 30-35%.
In November, the first AIDS conference was held in Beijing and the goal of keeping the number of AIDS sufferers below 1 million by the year 2010 was announced.
(Source: Internet Wire)
Down's Syndrome Gene Thought To Be Identified
A previously unidentified abnormal human chromosome believed to cause Down's Syndrome has been found in a girl and her mother in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China.
Li Xinle, Associate Professor at the Youjiang Ethnic Medical Institute, said the chromosome was found in a one-year-old girl suffering from Down's Syndrome and her mother during a genetic test conducted in August last year. Li said that both the mother and daughter demonstrate a transposal of No. 2 and No. 10 chromosomes. The baby girl also carries an additional No. 21 chromosome, which is believed to be the cause of the girl's handicap.
Li said that The China National Medical Genetics Laboratory has confirmed that no identical chromosome has ever been reported after consulting the international abnormal human chromosome database and other relevant resources.
Dai Heping of the State Medical Genetics Laboratory said the finding will contribute to world medical and genetic research and help prevent future cases of the disease.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
List of China GMP Facilities (Continued)
Name of Enterprise | Certified Scope |
951. Anhui Xinli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. by Shares | High dose injection |
952. Zhejiang Zuoli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. by Shares | Capsule, Bulk |
953. Zhejiang Kangyu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Oral bulk |
954. Zhejiang Wanlian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Capsule |
955. Huzhou Longhai Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Liniment |
956. Anhui Fanchang Pharmaceutical Factory | High dose injection |
957. Sichuan Taiji Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Low dose injection |
958. Yaan 999 Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High dose injection, low dose injection |
959. Jiangsu Duobao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Tablet, Capsule |
960. Guangdong Yikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Tablet, Capsule |
961. Jiangsu Xiansheng Hanhe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Tablet, Capsule |
962. Beijing Shuangqiao Pharmaceutical Co | Powder-injection |
963. Shanghai Johnson &Johnson Co., Ltd. | Tablet, Granule |
964. Huabei Pharmaceutical Group Jinhuan Bio-tech Development Co., Ltd. | RhG-CSF |
965. Siping Juneng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | High dose injection |
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