Targeted therapy fuels China's war on cancer

China's blueprint for health care development "Healthy China 2030" aims to raise the five-year survival rate by 15 percentage points by 2030. Ever since 2005 when targeted therapeutic drugs made the first foray into the Chinese market, the rate for Chinese terminal lung cancer patients alone has been raised from 8 percent to 18 percent.

"Despite an early entry, it was only recently that targeted therapies have became widely accepted by Chinese," said Gu Yutong, a pulmonologist in the Xiamen branch of the Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University.

For some time, this approach was costly. The monthly expense of Iressa, Tarceva and Conmana, three most frequently prescribed drugs for EGFR mutations, ranged from around 2,000 to 3,000 U.S. dollars.

"Some desperate patients even turned to online overseas purchase for bargains, but they often were at the mercy of unqualified middlemen and ill-qualified drugs," Gu said.

China's national medicare, however, began to cover 16 brands of targeted therapeutic drugs last year and their prices dropped 44 percent on average. Some drugs are even cheaper than chemotherapy.

As the market expands, home-grown medical enterprises are keen to make technological breakthroughs. Betta Pharmaceuticals based in the eastern city of Hangzhou has launched a self-developed targeted therapeutic drug, making China the world's third country to possess such a capability.

Also, Shenzhen-based BGI, China's top gene-sequencing provider, is developing the core technologies for next-generation gene sequencing, the well-recognized future for genetic testing.

Zheng Limou, who spent some 20 years in the United States for biomedical research and business, returned home in 2008 to set up a medical company. Now, the PCR assay for genetic testing his company offers boasts 70 percent of market share in China.

"I saw the potential of targeted therapy in China. And more importantly, I believe it is the future for cancer treatment," Zheng said.