Innovation, the most important social responsibility of pharmas

Chen Qiyu, Chairman of Fosun Pharma

 
"Let every family enjoy high-quality medical products and services to enjoy a healthy and happy life."

2019 is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the past seventy years, great changes have taken place in China's pharmaceutical industry, from groping forward to earnestly reforming, and to the rapid and vigorous development. We are also a part of it, witnessing the evolution of the times. The people's health is an important symbol of a nation for its prosperity. To enable the people to obtain good medical services at reasonable prices has always been the focus of the foundation of people's livelihood. China's 13th Five-Year plan upgrades the "healthy China" as a national strategy, and the healthcare industry has become a promising sunrise industry.
 

 
 

In the past few years, I have deeply felt that innovation is the core driving force for the development of Chinese pharmas, and is also the most important social responsibility for the sustainable development of pharmas. Under the current policy environment, we are more aware of the urgency of innovation and transformation, and the ability to create superior products supported by innovation ability has become the top priority of our work.
 

 
Ten years ago, Fosun Pharma started its deployment on innovative research and development. In the past ten years, we have created a biomedical unicorn company, Henlius, which has produced China's first self-developed biosimilar -HLX01 (rituximab injection). More importantly, in the past 10 years, we have tempered a global R&D team of monoclonal antibody biologic innovative drugs. More biosimilars and bio-innovative drugs are on the way.

We are pleased to see that there has been an unprecedented pattern of market competition. The price of reference listed drug (RLD) has been substantially reduced. Since the launch of HLX01 in May this year, thousands of Chinese non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients have benefited. At the same time, Artesunate for injection, our innovative product recommended by WHO for severe malaria treatment, has saved about 20 million lives in Africa, especially for women, and children under 5 years of age. Our first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs have helped more than 10 million TB patients; we have also served nearly 10 million patients in the field of chronic diseases.
 

 

 
Good products can make more people healthy, which is the power of innovation. In the future, we will continue to increase investment in innovative research and development, especially in therapeutic and curative products, to meet clinical needs. The R & D innovation of Chinese pharmas should be based on China's national conditions and make more innovations in treatment of serious diseases that Chinese patients can afford. I believe that the trend of innovative R&D in the future will move forward for advanced technology and to tackle major diseases. Fosun Pharma hopes to provide better drugs and make great efforts to fulfill its responsibility for the society.

Time flies and Fosun Pharma has gone through 20 years. Twenty years old, for a person, is in his or her youth; for an enterprise, it is also the beginning of a new chapter. In the future, Fosun Pharma will continue to adhere to the brand philosophy of "Innovation for Good Health", and actively fulfill social responsibility, so that every family can enjoy high-quality medical products and services, enjoy a healthy and happy life.

(The Chinese version of this article is published on China Sustainability Tribune)
(Images in this article are from the Internet)