China's medical reform fasttracks innovation: US pharma giant

BEIJING - China's reform efforts to promote research and development on medical innovation and shorten the review and approval time for the launch of related drugs have provided innovation-driven pharmaceutical firms with greater opportunities, a senior executive with US medicine giant Eli Lilly and Company said.

"Related reforms have stimulated innovation in the pharmaceutical sector, accelerating the pace at which new and effective drugs enter the Chinese market and prompting China to become a significant source of global pharmaceutical innovation," Wang Li, Lilly's senior vice-president and head of Lilly China Drug Development and Medical Affairs Center, told Xinhua.

The reforms enabled Lilly's Kisunla (donanemab), an innovative treatment seeking to slow the progression in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), to secure Chinese regulator's approval in December 2024 -- just five months after its first global market approval. The treatment was launched in the Chinese market on Saturday.

"This underscores the regulatory authorities' support for the expedited review and approval of breakthrough therapeutic drugs, marking a significant step forward in delivering innovative treatment options for AD patients," Wang said.

Wang credited China's establishment of four expedited approval channels to facilitate the development and launch of certain drugs. These reforms helped propel a total of 48 Class 1 innovative drug approvals in 2024, up 20 percent year-on-year, and most of their approval were fast-tracked, according to a report from China's National Medical Products Administration.

"China, as a leading global healthcare market, also serves as a hub for emerging biotechnology research and development, creating an ideal environment for scientific breakthroughs," Wang added.

Earlier this month, Lilly opened its innovation accelerator Lilly Gateway Laboratory in Beijing, the company's fourth facility of its kind and the first to open outside the United States. The Beijing lab is also Lilly's first innovation platform to provide data analytics facilities, offering robust support for businesses focused on advanced technologies and machine learning, according to Wang.