SHANGHAI: China’s healthcare regulator on Sunday ( Feb 9 ) defended the efficacy of off-patent medicines it had approved to be distributed through the country’s public hospitals, saying an investigation into quality concerns had found them to be unsubstantiated.
The National Healthcare Security Administration ( NHSA ) stated in an interview with the state-backed People’s Daily newspaper that it conducted evaluations to ensure that so-called generic drugs were accurate and effective with the original research drugs’ quality and effectiveness and that it strictly supervised them after approval.
Local media outlets quoted Beijing and Shanghai doctors who claimed that the less expensive generic drugs used in public clinics did not appear to have the same effectiveness or side effects as those manufactured by American pharmaceutical companies.
The regulator claimed it had investigated those statements by speaking to important specialists as well as the heads of seven hospitals and discovered that” personal feelings” were at the root of perceptions that generic drugs like anaesthetics and pills were less effective.
China launched the bulk-buy program in 2018 in an effort to negotiate lower rates from pharmaceutical manufacturers, and it has since expanded to many other regions of the nation.
The medications on the list include generics produced by local gamers as well as off-patent blockbusters produced by American pharmaceutical giants.
Although the program puts stress on margins, some drug manufacturers participate in the tenders to provide public hospitals in significant numbers.