Foreign companies accelerate break into Passive domestic traditional Chinese medicine

Time: 2016-03-01

Source: economic information daily

Author: yu-fei zhao

35 senior "overseas online shopping fan" Chen Liying not only oneself will buy "foreign Chinese medicine", also often help friends act as purchasing agency. "It in the overseas online shopping has become a kind of fashion, although price is expensive, but ' 'standardization degree is higher, the Chinese medicine active ingredients, adverse reactions are marked very clearly, a more guaranteed quality." She said.

Nowadays, overseas online shopping gens sweep cargo list is quietly changing, in addition to the luxury goods, cosmetics, they also bags from abroad to buy back all kinds of "western medicine", namely foreign imports of Chinese made of "Chinese prescription preparation". Data show that in international medicine market outside China, Japan, South Korea's market share has accounted for 90%, China accounted for only 5%, and in the domestic market, "the traditional Chinese medicine" market share is rapidly rising.

"The Chinese medicine" and domestic Chinese medicine have the same genes, why is a very different outcome? Experts believe that "the Chinese medicine" to become a good catch, reflects the long-term existence of Chinese materia medica industry quality standards, patents, research and development, and many other problems.

Musk is widely used in the 433 kinds of proprietary Chinese medicine, but nearly as musk endangered disappear. Won the first prize in the 2015 national science and technology progress prize of "artificial musk development and industrialization" topic in the face of natural musk deer resource collapse damage its predicament, found "no musk fragrance also" solution. The picture shows team first persons involved yu dq academician, Chinese academy of medical sciences, medicine research institute. The reporter Li ho/taken

"The Chinese medicine" sweep into Chinese goods "beacon"

Nearly two years, has been employed more than 10 years of tour guide Yu Lin found that in addition to the relatives and friends from foreign luxury goods, cosmetics, South Korea's bezoar sedative liquid, Japan of kyushin pills, a growing number of "foreign Chinese medicine" has entered the list of entrusted purchase.

Our price is the domestic similar products several times, but that did not stop the enthusiasm of the Chinese sweep cargo. Japan's kobayashi pharmaceutical companies, for example, recently said that last year kobayashi pharmaceutical products are Chinese tourists, bagging, second and third quarter of last year sales rose five or six times, the firm's share price has jumped 40% since last year. Is not only the kobayashi pharmaceutical, Japan several other production "Chinese prescription preparation" enterprise also therefore profits soared in recent years.

YouHongTao Watson pharmaceuticals group chairman, said Chinese tourists buy "Chinese prescription preparation", is actually a foreign company conforms to the standards of Chinese medicinal materials, imported from China after deep processing production of proprietary Chinese medicine or health products abroad, and foreign language becomes a "foreign Chinese medicine", the price is several times of domestic similar products.

"The traditional Chinese medicine is very popular on the market, at present in the domestic market sales of at least 50 types of the traditional Chinese medicine." Third military medical university xinqiao hospital of traditional Chinese medicine experts Zhao Chaoting introduction, "the traditional Chinese medicine" in the 1990 s has entered China, and in recent 5 years, Europe and Japan and South Korea and other multinational pharmaceutical companies through wholly-owned, joint ventures and other strategies to accelerate into the Chinese market, more and more "foreign Chinese medicine" began to appear in the domestic market.

Zhao Chaoting said that foreign companies are "break into" field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is not only uphold the huge market of China's population, but also took a fancy to the advantage of TCM in the treatment of chronic diseases. Overall concept, and TCM symptoms, the dialectical treats the idea and thinking highly of the development of medicine today.

The data shows, at present the international medicine market scale (except Chinese mainland) for more than $30 billion, Japan's market share is as high as 80%, South Korea's market share accounted for 10%, China accounted for only 5%. Not only that, more and more Chinese consumers through overseas online shopping, entity pharmacies and other channels to buy "foreign Chinese medicine". According to incomplete statistics, "the traditional Chinese medicine" has one third of the domestic market, and has a tendency to rise year by year.

Not only that, in international medicine market in China is almost limited to countries such as Europe, America, Japan and South Korea "Chinese prescription preparations" to provide raw materials. Statistics show that of the Chinese medicine and health products import and export chamber of commerce in our country 5% market share in the international market, the most is the low added value of traditional Chinese medicine raw materials and plant extracts, multinational drug companies processing into a "foreign Chinese medicine", the highest value-added can promote dozens of times.

"Chinese medicine is the treasure of the Chinese traditional culture, now appear this kind of circumstance, is painful, and is worth thinking about." YouHongTao said.

Lack of quality standards Domestic Chinese medicine in "quality crisis"

The personage inside course of study thinks, "the traditional Chinese medicine" was accept consumer favour, the strict quality standard is an important reason, and this is precisely what Chinese traditional medicine industry in our country's biggest weakness. The lack of quality standards, for the domestic Chinese medicine into a "crisis" quality.

"Traditional Chinese medicine was wild, but now have a plenty of large-scale cultivation, more retail planting is a farmer, in terms of detection, as to what kind of medicine is qualified, has been a lack of clear standards, fertilizers, abuse of Chinese medicinal materials, such as heavy metal exceeds bid problem increasingly prominent." YouHongTao said, "we have seen in some places, gastrodia elata was fertilizer have as big as sweet potato, angelica dahurica as big as a carrot."

Of the personage inside course of study says, to enter the eu market of Chinese herbal medicine, quality standard is very meticulous, impurity, drying weightlessness, heavy metals and pesticide residues and other indicators are very strict, once the violations will not be able to enter the market, if the circumstances are serious companies also face a lock-up and even a hefty fine. In addition, the European Union in recent years in inspection of plant medicine pesticide species expanded very quickly, disable pesticide varieties increased.

Therefore, due to the lack of quality standards, our country has often been proprietary Chinese medicine export Europe and the United States as unqualified products. Since last year, gastrodia elata pills for a headache, caulis dendrobii luminous, baifeng pills and other proprietary Chinese medicine abroad was heavy metal exceeds bid.

In addition, Zhao Chaoting said, in addition to the traditional Chinese medicinal materials quality, the quality of the domestic Chinese medicine products is not stable, the same kind of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the products of different enterprises, and even different batches of the product of the same enterprise production, due to the different raw materials, production process, the effect often there is a difference, and qualified products should have what quality standard of Chinese medicine, there is no clear statement. However, symbol of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the biggest advantage is, on the instructions clearly marked the the effect of each drug, such as Japan's production of "Chinese prescription preparation", the basic have clear standards, indicated the clinical efficacy of data on the manual, active ingredients, adverse reactions, etc.

In fact, our country has also had efforts in improving the quality of Chinese medicinal materials. In 2002, our country began to implement Chinese herbal medicine GAP (good agricultural practice) certification, from the source to ensure the quality of Chinese medicinal materials and stable and controllable. But recently, the state council announced the cancellation has 13 years of Chinese herbal medicine GAP certification.

"Should have canceled, purely to cope with the certification and certification, basic didn't have the effect of improving the quality of Chinese medicinal materials." One well-known domestic pharmaceutical companies, chairman said, many places the construction of the Chinese herbal medicine GAP planting base, but as a result of planting cost is high, the relevant departments and cannot be regulated, the process of planting and lack of punishment basis and means, lead to Chinese herbal medicine GAP certification eventually become a mere formality.

Patent consciousness weak Domestic Chinese medicine "passive"

The economic information daily, reporter survey found that in the international market and domestic market, domestic Chinese medicine products in a "passive" adverse situation, domestic medicine companies patent consciousness is also an important reason.

In September 2014, the state intellectual property office released a set of data: our country is Chinese herbal medicine, but nearly one thousand kinds of Chinese herbal medicine has been foreign companies registered patent. In Japan, for example, its more than 200 "Chinese prescription preparation" patent prescription were from China.

"In fact, as early as 10 years ago, Europe and the United States, Japan and South Korea and other countries of the enterprise is contributed to a 'patents registered heat of Chinese herbal medicine, but there was no has drawn great attention of the industry." Tai chi group Bai Lixi, chairman of the board, said the most typical example is artemisinin, developed by tu artemisinin won the Nobel Prize, is China's only listed as the world health organization (who) basic drugs directory of drugs, successfully developed more than 30 years, artemisinin has saved the lives of tens of millions of malaria patients.

However, due to the domestic enterprises lack of consciousness of intellectual property rights, many published in journals, international conference on artemisinin related information, in just a few years, the Swiss company is registered the artemisinin core technology patents, and foreign similar products were established.

Relevant data show that the artemisinin and its related products in the international market with annual sales of $1.5 billion, but as the developer of the artemisinin, less than 1% of the market share in China.

Artemisinin painful lessons only domestic drug firms an awkward epitome of patent consciousness. The reporter understands, quite a number of domestic Chinese medicine did not apply for a patent, a lot of "native" the viewpoints of traditional Chinese medicines, as foreign companies "cash cow".

For example, the United States has a patent of a number of traditional Chinese medicine peppermint, earn high profits in the chewing gum market; Traditional Chinese patent medicine bezoar sedative bolus has been South Korea patent application, now called bezoar sedative oral liquid; Ginkgo biloba preparation of patent is also in German hands... There has been some enterprises patent by foreign companies registered, even had to spend high price to buy back.

At the same time, an application for a patent for the domestic Chinese medicine institutional hurdles, also let a few patent consciousness of enterprises. The personage inside course of study points out that traditional Chinese medicine patent protection in China is facing a long approval, the examination and approval period, and the problem of small scope of protection. Chinese medicine is mostly compound, for example, dozens of material are mixed together, difficult to analysis the original formula and production process, approval is difficult. In addition, patent means revealing their secret recipe of Chinese medicine, and the patent approval cycle for 2 to 3 years, companies often unaffordable.

Innovation weak Domestic Chinese medicine competition

The reporter understands, medical scholars abroad and manufacturers are committed to seeking clues to new drugs from the plant medicine, innovation status of research and development on. Ginkgo biloba, for example, offer a few yuan per kilogram, while Germany developed from ginkgo biloba leaves step-down lipid-lowering drugs, these drugs market prices as high as hundreds of yuan.

Bai Lixi said, now has hundreds of traditional Chinese medicine research institutions in our country, more than 2000 proprietary Chinese medicine production enterprises, can produce proprietary Chinese medicine for thousands of species, but very little significant innovation breakthrough, less into realistic productivity, never appear comparable to artemisinin, domestic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in and symbol of the Chinese traditional medicine, competition in the world.

A number of industry insiders said, foreign drug companies to research the ratio of capital to achieve annual sales of 15 to 20%, and the scientific research investment in China's big money often accounts for only 3% to 5% of sales revenue.

For example, there are more than 2000 Chinese medicine production enterprises in China at present, due to the computer control system of high cost, fully using the computer control technology of less than 10, most companies still use semi-automatic or fully mature production technology, and human behavior are influenced by external factors, controllability is extremely low, the serious influence the stability of product quality.

"In recent years, more and more enterprises have realized the importance of science and technology innovation, but some institutional hurdles dampened the enthusiasm of enterprise innovation." YouHongTao said, the state encourages enterprises to develop new drugs, but new drug approval process is long, the program is multifarious, and in accordance with the current rules, new drugs listed five years cannot be included in the health care catalogs, base directory, innovation achievements into productivity is very difficult.

Watson pharmaceuticals group invested more than 3000 ten thousand yuan, develop new drugs for treatment of disease of heart head blood-vessel, eight taste stilbene dragon grain, the product entered the national "863" project major drug discovery program, enter the market in 2013. However, the threshold of the products on the market after meet let YouHongTao blindsided, new drugs listed into their medical insurance directory within five years, hospital bidding procurement of provinces and cities, also not be considered, resulting in the innovative products sales of only a few hundreds of thousands of yuan a year.

"This account, it is' who innovation who cheated." YouHongTao confusion, "approvals, patent application, research and development need to 5 years, we will have to wait five years for entering the market, the enterprise can't have the enthusiasm of innovation, countries is to encourage innovation or not encourage innovation?"