The state encourages innovation, why should it vigorously develop generic drugs?

In recent years, innovative anti-cancer drugs such as targeted drugs and biologics have emerged, and there are more accurate and effective ways to treat tumors in addition to traditional chemotherapy. However, because these innovative drugs are often imported patented drugs, the price is expensive, and the average patient can not use it or can not afford it, which is a pain point of widespread concern in society. Not long ago, The General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on reforming and Improving the policy of generic drug Supply Security and Use, proposing to promote the research and development of generic drugs, improve the quality and efficacy, and improve the support policy, coupled with the subsequent introduction of the zero tariff policy of imported anti-cancer drugs, this internal and external change, so that people can reduce the cost of drugs and use more effective new drugs, there are more expectations.

Zhang Yuhui, chief physician of the respiratory and critical Care Medicine Department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, has worked in the respiratory department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital for more than 20 years. In the past 20 years, she felt that the most difficult thing to face was patients who could not afford targeted drugs. One of Zhang Yuhui's patients, only 30 years old, is a terminal cancer patient, because the use of expensive targeted drugs, the family can only choose chemotherapy.

Zhang Yuhui said that targeted drugs are better than chemotherapy drugs, its safety is better than chemotherapy drugs, less toxic. Because the patient is very sick, she wants to give him some less toxic drugs. Clearly know that there is medicine can be saved, but there is nothing to do, as a doctor, Zhang Yuhui feels very helpless, very sad, but also very uncomfortable.

There is no medicine, not only the patient suffering, the doctor suffering, the country is also very anxious. In 2016, the national drug price negotiation was launched, and in two years, through two national negotiations, nearly 20 anticancer drugs have entered the national medical insurance catalog. A few days ago, The State Council held an executive meeting and decided to implement zero tariffs on imported cancer drugs from May 1. All these efforts are aimed at making good medicines available and affordable to the people. However, many serious diseases and special diseases are chronic diseases, although there are policy subsidies and charitable donations of drugs, patients still have to bear part of the cost, and they have to take drugs for a long time, and the accumulated burden is still very heavy.

How can we solve this problem? Let's start with an example. Gefitinib is a special drug for the treatment of lung cancer, which was first developed by an American company and successfully launched in China in 2005. Because there is no alternative medicine in China, the price of gefitinib in the domestic market has been high, as high as 5,000 yuan per box. In February 2017, gefitinib and tablets developed by a domestic pharmaceutical company were listed, with a price of less than 2,000 yuan per box, which not only broke the market monopoly of foreign pharmaceutical companies, but also reduced the price of imported gefitinib tablets by half.

Liu Jie, chief physician of respiratory Department of Shandong Cancer Hospital, told reporters: "For advanced non-small cell lung cancer, the use of domestic gefitinib treatment, the state bear about 20,000 yuan, patients bear about 20,000 yuan, you can get lifelong medication, so that for most patients can afford, many patients can get the best treatment, but also get the best survival."

It can be seen that the most fundamental way to solve this problem is to have alternative drugs that are consistent with the original patented drugs in terms of quality and efficacy. Therefore, many countries, including China, encourage the combination of imitation and innovation, that is, vigorously develop generic drugs while developing innovative drugs.

According to Fu Hongpeng, a researcher at the Health Development Research Center of the National Health Commission, generic drugs refer to a drug that is produced by a manufacturer that does not have a patent and can replace the original patented drug after its compound patent expires, and its research and development cost is low, which can meet patients well and can be affordable economically. All countries in the world have developed generic drugs, for some countries with relatively backward pharmaceutical industry, the development of generic drugs is a necessary way for the development of pharmaceutical industry.

On April 3, The General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on reforming and Improving generic drug Supply Security and Use policies, which put forward 15 specific opinions from promoting research and development, improving quality to supporting policies. China is a major producer of generic drugs, nearly 5,000 pharmaceutical companies, 99% are generic drug companies, nearly 170,000 drug approvals, more than 95% are generic drugs. It is embarrassing that although there are some patented drugs, we have alternative generic drugs, but for safety reasons, doctors are still more willing to use patented drugs with a long time on the market and exact efficacy in clinical practice, and most patients will choose patented drugs if economic conditions allow.