China medical industry

[JSCh]

Chinese HEV vaccine begins clinical trial in U.S.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-02 22:43:57|Editor: xuxin

XIAMEN, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese vaccine against the Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) has entered clinical trial in the United States after two U.S. volunteers were vaccinated on May 1 (local time), according to Xiamen University.

The trial will be carried out in three phases. The phase 1 clinical trial is scheduled to enroll 25 U.S. volunteers, and Phase 2 and 3 FDA-approved trials of the vaccine are expected to be done in a third country.

The vaccine, sold under the trade name Hecolin, was initially developed by a research team from Xiamen University in east China's Fujian Province and then transferred to and commercialized by the Xiamen Innovax Biotech Co., Ltd.

Hecolin has been used in China since 2012 for the prevention of hepatitis E.

It has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enter a clinical trial in January.

It is the first time that FDA has given a green light to a Chinese vaccine to enter a clinical trial in the United States, according to Zhang Jun, deputy director of National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases at Xiamen University.

According to Zhang, the trial was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary agency of the U.S. government responsible for biomedical and public health research.

Hepatitis E is a liver disease caused by HEV, which is transmitted mainly through contaminated drinking water and food. Large outbreaks of the disease have been reported in at least 30 countries in Africa, Asia and North America.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2015, there are approximately 20 million HEV infections, 3.4 million symptomatic cases and 70,000 deaths globally every year.

The disease is typically most life-threatening among pregnant women, with a fatality rate of 10 percent to 50 percent. People with pre-existing chronic liver disease are prone to develop severe hepatitis following HEV infection.

 

[TaiShang]

Tariffs to help medical equipment makers grow

By Chu Daye Source:Global Times Published: 2019/5/21

Price rises to push existing substitution drive

A Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility is showcased at the China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair in April. Photo: IC

Chinese manufacturers of medical equipment are expected to benefit from China's retaliatory tariffs on US goods amid the trade war between the world's two largest economies, as a substitution drive is taking place, an industry analyst said on Tuesday.

China announced a tariff list affecting US-origin goods worth $60 billion on May 13. Items subject to tariffs range from blood pressure measuring instrument to B-ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.

China is the world's second-largest market for medical equipment and drugs and a major source of revenue for American companies in the sector such as GE and Johnson & Johnson, the world's leading players in medical equipment.

China imports mainly high-end medical equipment. For instance, customs data showed that in 2017, China imported $436 million worth of B-ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.

In the first quarter of the year, China's imports of medical equipment and instruments grew by 10.8 percent year-on-year, while overall import growth was flat at just 0.3 percent.

Some industry analysts have argued that while some of the tariffs will be passed on to Chinese consumers by importers as some core technology and equipment can't be replaced, some medical equipment that China can make may gain a boost in market share.

With the tariffs raising product prices, foreign brands may lose competitiveness or be forced to invest more on localization efforts, according to industry media reports.

In both scenarios, domestic medical equipment makers stand to benefit, and this development could aid efforts to breach foreign monopolies in entrenched sectors, the report said.

Li Tianquan, co-founder of domestic healthcare big data platform yaozh.com, noted that there are mixed results from the tariff wars among the drug and manufacturing sectors.

In some low-end segments, domestic brands already substitute for international brands with a price advantage. Quality of domestic products is the top concern for patients. If imported alternatives face an increase in price, domestic products stand a better chance, Li told the Global Times on Tuesday.

A major manufacturer of medical equipment, China exported medical equipment totaled $21.7 billion, up 5.84 percent year-on-year in 2017, according to a research paper by Caixin, citing customs data. Exports to the US were valued at $5.11 billion in the same year.

In the list of $300 billion worth of Chinese imports that would be hit with tariffs of up to 25 percent, proposed by the US, pharmaceuticals, certain pharmaceutical inputs and select medical goods were excluded.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1150928.shtml

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese companies increasing share in medical ultrasonic equipment market

By Zheng Yiran | China Daily | Updated: 2019-05-31

A visitor tries out a medical ultrasonic diagnostic equipment at a health industry expo in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The market size of China's medical ultrasonic diagnostic instrument industry is estimated to reach $1.58 billion by 2022, maintaining an average annual growth rate of around 6 percent, and domestic brands will see more opportunities thanks to technological advances, rising demand, and supportive policies, a recent report said.

The report by market research consultancy QY Research showed that in 2016, the country's medical ultrasonic diagnostic instrument market was $1.15 billion, and its 6 percent average annual growth rate is double the global growth rate of 3 percent.

The market volume generated by hospital color equipment replacement will be 7 billion to 20 billion yuan ($1.04 billion to $2.98 billion) because major hospitals normally change their color equipment every three years, an estimate by QY Research said.

"Currently, the market pattern of China's medical ultrasonic diagnostic instrument has changed from foreign brands' absolute monopoly to a relative monopoly," said the report.

Before 2004, no domestic companies produced color equipment, and the market was totally monopolized by foreign brands. Between 2004 and 2006, General Electric Co, Royal Philips and Siemens AG accounted for 95 percent of market share, QY Research explained.

But domestic brands such as Mindray and SonoScape, which are both headquartered in Shenzhen, entered the medical ultrasonic diagnostic instrument market and their entry resulted in over 30 percent and 20 percent price drops for the low end and medium to high end color equipment respectively.

Data by the China Association of Medical Equipment showed that as early as 2015, the sales volume of Mindray's color equipment had surpassed those of foreign brands such as GE, Philips and Siemens, breaking their absolute monopoly.

Domestic brands are now entering the global market. Data from Wismar Equipment Research Center said China's export volume of color equipment has steadily risen in the past few years. In 2017, exports reached $600 million, up 19.28 percent on a year-on-year basis.

Statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed that domestically produced color equipment is now exported to 160 countries and regions, with Asia, North America and Europe the main targets.

He Xujin, general manager at the Medical Imaging System Division of Mindray, said that "with China's economic development and policy support, Chinese medical ultrasonic diagnostic instrument brands are growing rapidly. The market share of domestics brands in China increased from 5 percent in 2006 to 28 percent now.

"Currently, Chinese companies are gaining a firm foothold in the high-end medical ultrasonic diagnostic instrument market, and accepted widely by users. The dominance by foreign enterprises results in high prices for the devices. The rise of domestics brands has brought prices down."

He noted that with rising income levels of Chinese residents and the public paying increased attention to health issues, healthcare demand has gone up.

"Medical ultrasonic diagnostic instruments have no radiation hazards and are cost effective with high level of performance. Therefore, it is being applied in more and more medical institutions. In addition, the government has also been offering favorable policies, encouraging the localization of high-end instruments. China is undergoing medical reforms to enable patients to get easier and cheaper treatments where domestic devices are needed," the Mindray official said.

He added that China, as the fastest-growing medical ultrasonic diagnostic instrument market in the world, is likely to become the largest market player in one to two years, and domestic enterprises are the biggest winners. "Chinese brands have high cost performance, and the quality of their products is getting better."

Market insiders said that China's medical ultrasonic diagnostic market is also entering an era of artificial intelligence and big data so the market volume is expected to expand.

Domestic brands in the market are shifting their focus from the low-end market to the medium to high-end market, and some new enterprises are targeting high-end color equipment. Domestic companies have begun to attach more importance to research and development and innovation.

While there is still a gap between domestic and foreign companies, and with policy support, a better market environment, and the efforts of local companies, the rise of domestic brands is a trend that is expected to continue in the years ahead, they said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201905/31/WS5cf09954a3104842260bee07.html

@cirr

 

[JSCh]

China becoming seedbed for medical innovation as reform, opening-up quicken: Novo Nordisk
Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 20:39:11|Editor: mingmei

BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China is developing into a prime region for medical innovation as reforms in this field pick up the pace and the market is increasingly open for international partnership, according to senior management with global health care giant Novo Nordisk.

"We can see things are now progressing really nicely in China as the Chinese government wants innovation and the drug regulator has become much more modern and is now working faster," Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief science officer of Novo Nordisk, told Xinhua.

"There had been rules about when you are allowed to start doing Chinese clinical trials, but this is changing. The Chinese drug regulator is starting to accept that you do more multinational studies where you can combine China with other countries, and then develop faster than in the old days," Mads said, "We've actually made faster-than-expected progress in China."

The company announced in late May that its Ryzodeg has been approved for the treatment of type-2 diabetes in adults by China's National Medical Products Administration based on its proven advantages compared to existing insulin treatments.

Mads said the company innovates to improve the lives of people living with serious chronic diseases and continually seeks new partners with whom they share complementary capabilities and mutual interests.

China's medical science level is rising as more and more well-educated young scientists come back for opportunities, and the scientific impact of Chinese journals and papers in the science arena is also coming up, Mads observed.

Many Chinese scientists in academia have good ideas, while Novo Nordisk can help translate academic science into drug-related science by offering laboratory facilities and other support, according to Mads.

Echoing its "Partnering for Innovation" project, Novo Nordisk in March launched INNOVO, an open innovation platform in China through which the company seeks to join hands with local academic institutions, biotech startups and incubators to accelerate the transformation of scientific research into new drugs and their development.

Since setting up its first China office in Beijing 25 years ago, Novo Nordisk has been steadily expanding its local presence, opening a strategic manufacturing plant in Tianjin in 1995, and a research and development center in Beijing in 1997, the first multinational pharmaceutical firm to take this step in China.

The Greater China region is Novo Nordisk's second-largest market, accounting for about 10 percent of its global revenue. It's a fast-growing market with revenue expanding by 8 percent in 2018 and 9 percent in the first quarter this year, according to Maziar Mike Doustdar, Executive Vice President of International Operations at Novo Nordisk.

"I love the forward-looking agenda that the Chinese government conducted and called 'Health China 2030' because it is very much aligned with our long-term thinking," Doustdar said.

Doustdar also observed that the Chinese government is very innovative, "my hope is that we will be able to get the Chinese registration done much faster, allowing us to bring medicines to China in a much faster way to benefit more patients in the future."

 

[JSCh]

China approves norovirus vaccine for clinical trial
Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 19:12:41|Editor: Li Xia

SHANGHAI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have greenlit a clinical trial for the world's first tetravalent vaccine against norovirus, the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis.

The vaccine received the clinical research permit from the National Medical Products Administration on May 30, its developer, the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai (IPS) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced at a press conference Tuesday.

As the number one cause of acute viral gastroenteritis, the highly contagious and sometimes deadly norovirus infects about 685 million people worldwide annually and has increasingly emerged as a public health issue in China.

The vaccine, after four years of development, can theoretically prevent 80 to 90 percent of norovirus infections also known as "stomach flu," said Huang Zhong, who leads the project at IPS.

The norovirus has long eluded the world's vaccine development, as traditional strategies of inactivation and attenuation fail on the virus that cannot be cultured in vitro on a large scale. This was further complicated by the virus' many genotypes, regional variations and its propensity to mutate, according to Huang.

The clinical trial is expected to last for five years before the vaccine can apply for new drug registration, which will benefit norovirus prevention in both China and abroad, said Tang Hong, researcher with the IPS.

The vaccine is jointly developed by the IPS and Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

Long way to go.

 

[JSCh]

China’s Churning Out Revolutionary Cancer Drugs Much Cheaper Than the U.S. - Bloomberg

 

[JSCh]

Ex-chemistry teacher Zhong Huijuan poised to become China’s third-richest woman after founding US$10.4 billion Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group | South China Morning Post

Ex-chemistry teacher Zhong Huijuan poised to become China’s third-richest woman after founding US$10.4 billion Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group

• Firm is expected to go public in Hong Kong on Friday, with Zhang’s 68 per cent stake giving her a US$7.9 billion fortune
• She and husband Sun Piaoyang will join world’s richest pharmaceutical families, rivalling the Sacklers and Bertarellis

...

 

[JSCh]

China's New Discovery of Malaria Drug's Use May Spur Global Sales
LIN ZHIYIN
DATE : JUN 17 2019/SOURCE : YICAI

China's New Discovery of Malaria Drug's Use May Spur Global Sales​

(Yicai Global) June 17 -- A Chinese research team has found new uses for a metabolite of artemisinin, which may boost sales of the antimalarial drug in China, its slowing home market. Stock prices of producers are already up.

The team of Tu Youyou, a Chinese scientist who originally discovered artemisinin as an effective treatment against malaria, has found out that dihydroartemisinin can also treat systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease, the research team announced today.

Share prices of artemisinin-related firms soared today. That of KPC Pharmaceuticals [SH:600422], which will carry out clinical trials of the lupus drug, rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to CNY9.70 (USD1.40).

The new breakthrough in research can expand the sales of new artemisinin drugs across the world, secretary of the board of directors at KPC told Yicai Global. The firm will need from seven to eight years to bring the new medicine into the market.

Sales of artemisinin have been in decline in China and global drug giants, such as Switzerland's Novartis Group and France's Sanofi, have taken over foreign markets. Chinese producers' global market share is less than 10 percent.

The China Food and Drug Administration has given permits for 20 companies to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for artemisinin and KPC has most of these licenses. However, revenue from the firm's antimalarial products fell 36 percent last year to CNY693 million (USD100 million), its earnings report shows. The reason was that the incidence rate of malaria in the company's sales region decreased, said the board secretary.

Other Chinese producers are struggling too. The operating income of Artepharm fell 11 percent to CNY98.6 million last year, its earnings report shows. The Meizhou-based firm said that the international trade situation and the reducing exports of antimalarial drugs caused the slowdown in sales.

"Our market is mainly abroad," an insider at Artepharm told Yicai Global. The occurrence of malaria is closely related to poor sanitation, and China eliminated malaria as early as in the 1980s and 1990s, the person said, adding that China sells the drug to some economically underdeveloped regions.

 

[JSCh]

Across China: Chinese researchers design bionic bones with 3D printing
Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-19 17:13:03|Editor: Yamei

XI'AN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers are designing bionic bones with improved biological compatibility and mechanical strength, which will bring new possibilities for future orthopedic implants.

Researchers from the Northwestern Polytechnical University have spent more than 15 years developing artificial bones that are highly consistent with the composition, structure and mechanical properties of natural bones.

Bone defects are one of the most common diseases in orthopedics, and scientists have been exploring new methods to fabricate bone scaffolds to repair the defects.

According to Wang Yan'en from the university, which is based in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, most commonly used bone implants are made of polymer materials and metals such as titanium, but they lack bio-compatibility and do not match human bone's mechanical strength, which could lead to abrasion and dislocation after being implanted.

"If the implants cannot be well fused with natural bones, they may need secondary surgery," Wang said.

Wang's team used hydroxyapatite, a medical bioceramic material, to fabricate bone scaffolds. Wang said although it is considered as one of the most suitable materials for bone scaffold fabrication, how to bond the powder-like material into a strong and robust scaffold remains a difficult problem.

"Previously used acidic binders have made the bone scaffold acidic, which adversely affected the environment for the growth of bone cells and brought agony to the patient after implantation," Wang said.

The team experimented with hundreds of different solutions to create a binder that would not only result in a strong and robust scaffold but also adapt to the biological environment. The research was published in the journal Polymer.

After research on the material, Wang's team also explored how to use 3D printing technology to make customized bone scaffolds. They cooperated with companies in developing 3D bionic bone printing machines.

Natural bones have complex internal structures, which requires the printing system to boast special mechanical technology.

"With ultra-fine droplets spraying technology, the printing equipment can precisely regulate the proportion of the printing materials, including the powder, the binder, the cell culture liquid and protein original fluid," Wang said.

The research team cooperated with the Air Force Medical University, which is also in the city of Xi'an, to conduct animal tests. After the 3D printed bionic bone was implanted in the rabbits, they developed well in the body, with the bionic bone being well integrated with the natural bone.

Wang's team is also working on the 3D printing of skin, including sweat glands and hair follicles.

"These technologies with the potential for clinical application may bring hope to those patients with bone defects and skin damage," Wang said.

 

[JSCh]

SSE STAR Market approves first spin-off listing
2019-06-20 14:58:13 CGTN

Five companies passed through the 5th and 6th review meetings by the newly launched SSE STAR Market on Wednesday. Shanghai MicroPort Endovascular MedTech Co., Ltd. (MicroPort Endovascular) is one of them, which became the first spin-off listing company to get approval.

MicroPort Endovascular is one of the subsidiaries of MicroPort Scientific Corporation (00853.HK), which has listed in Hong Kong.

"The regulators didn't encourage domestic spin-off listings in the past, as there were concerns it might spur speculation or problems such as financial misbehavior or corporate independence issues," said Ge Shoujing, senior analyst at the Reality Institute of Advanced Finance.

"With the launch of the tech board, which introduces a registration-based IPO system, the regulatory mindset has changed to loosen control and allow the market to decide which companies should be listed," he added.

Now the SSE STAR Market is becoming a hotbed for companies. According to a report by Deloitte, 90 to 110 companies may be listed this year on the Market.

At least nine companies listed in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland has decided or are mulling to spin off parts of their business units on the Market, reported by Bloomberg.

The SSE STAR Market has attracted wide attention partly because of its more straightforward listing process, including waiving restrictions on how companies are priced, theoretically making it less onerous for applicants.

Another factor for SSE STAR Market being attractive is due to its relatively higher valuations.

"Compared with listing spin-off units in Hong Kong, companies may enjoy higher valuations on the tech board, given the higher valuations of the A-share market," said Peng, an analyst at Lianxun Securities Co. "The vetting process would also be simplified given it will have to be reviewed only by the domestic regulator," Bloomberg reported.

"Spin-off listing on the tech board is definitely an attractive investment theme for the stock market, given these subsidiaries are expected to enjoy higher valuations and better branding thanks to the huge attention on the tech board right now," said Fu Lichun, an analyst at Northeast Securities Co, quoted in a Bloomberg's report.

Domestic spin-off listings mean that investors will have more fresh buying opportunities, while parent companies could streamline operations and enjoy seeing the boosts of their share prices, at least in the short term.

"The potential number and scale of spin-offs is expected to be very large in the future," Fu said.

 

[JSCh]

China Focus: China-developed cancer detection device gets market access
Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-13 00:40:26|Editor: Shi Yinglun

WUHAN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A China-developed cutting-edge cancer detection device, which integrates positron emission tomography (PET) scans and CT scans, has been approved by national drug regulators and obtained market access earlier this month.

The equipment was developed by scientists from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology based in Wuhan, Hubei Province, after a 19-year study.

In May 2018, the National Medical Products Administration greenlighted the clinical trial, which tested its safety and effectiveness at two hospitals in Guangdong Province.

PET is a nuclear medicine functional imaging technique to observe metabolic processes in the body as an aid to the diagnosis of diseases. According to Xie Qingguo, the lead researcher, the medical device works with two scanners: the CT provides anatomical position information, while the PET provides molecular information.

"Compared with other medical imaging methods, it can help provide more accurate information in early detection and treatment of cancer and brain diseases," Xie said.

It detected metastatic cancer tumors that conventional methods failed to identify in patients who participated in the clinical trial, helping them get early treatment.

A 38-year-old male patient of Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a head and neck cancer, was one of the first to be treated in this way.

It was believed that he had almost recovered, but on May 28, 2018, at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, he underwent the detection by the device, which found cancer cells in his scapula, ribs and femur. The cancer cells were not identified previously by other imaging methods. Due to the new findings, the patient was able to receive timely treatment.

"The digital scanner has an advantage of clear imaging, especially for organs with complicated structures," said Fan Wei, a radiologist of the hospital.

A digital PET scanner for the brain was recently installed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. It has completed a series of tests and will be used in dealing with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

The five-year survival rate of cancer patients in China is only 30.9 percent, much less than that in the United States. One reason behind this is delayed detection and treatment.

With the help of the device, which can discover various lesions including tumors earlier and more accurately than traditional scanners, the time it takes to discover cancer cells will be significantly reduced.

In the past, China was just a follower in developing such PET scanners which were monopolized by foreign companies.

However, the digital medical equipment is a breakthrough. "From key materials and core components to system machines, each are the result of China's innovation," said Xiao Peng, a member of the research team.

According to researchers, the high-end digital medical equipment has been granted several patents and will enter mass production soon to help more people deal with diseases.

 

[JSCh]

'Rocket heart' made in China saves two
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2019-07-08 15:57

The HeartCon is a ventricular assistance device that saved two patients in Tianjin. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Homemade "artificial hearts" have saved two patients with advanced cardiac failure in North China's Tianjin municipality, and an activity was held Friday to celebrate the success, more than 100 days after the surgeries.

Doctors at the TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital implanted the HeartCon, a ventricular assist device developed and patented exclusively by Chinese professionals with "rocket science," for the two patients in March.

The man, 39, and the woman, 62, lived with advanced dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes poor heart function, chest distress and shortness of breath, and were under constant threat of imminent death from heart failure.

After the successful implantation, the man now exercises by walking at least 20,000 steps every day and the woman, who is the first female to receive such a device in China, started her daily exercise routine with a goal of at least 10,000 steps.

The HeartCon is considered the first of its kind in China, with its parts also made in China. It was developed through the joint efforts of the hospital and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a developer of the country's rockets.

Doctors at the TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital implant the HeartCon, a ventricular assist device. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The device is a titanium alloy system of hybrid magnetic-hydrodynamic impeller suspension weighing 180g. Powered by two batteries connected to the three-core driveline, it delivers 1-10L of blood per minute.

The hospital and the academy started to cooperate on the device in 2009, and the HeartCon was implanted in a sheep in 2013. It lived 120 days in good health after the procedure.

The animal series of tests using the HeartCon started in October 2017. All six sheep receiving the HeartCon survived more than 90 days, with the longest survival lasting 180 days.

The device was submitted for special review and approval procedure for innovative medical devices after approval from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration in June 2018.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese scientists find cancer hope in old pest remedy | South China Morning Post

• Researchers make accidental discovery while testing drug resistance in insects
• Common parasite treatment paves way for cancer-busting drugs in tests

Stephen Chen
Published: 7:30pm, 8 Jul, 2019

A type of pesticide used to treat lice and worms in humans could help treat cancer, according to a new study by Chinese scientists.

A research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Zoology in Beijing injected Ivermectin, a widely available insecticide, into the bodies of mice with solid tumours and leukaemia. The cancer cells, which previously had been highly drug-resistant, immediately succumbed to chemotherapeutic drugs.

Professor Wu Yijun and his colleagues next tried Ivermectin on human cells in which colorectal and breast cancers had been cultured in a dish, with the same results.

“It was an unexpected discovery,” Wu said. “The original purpose of our research was not about cancer, but to study the drug resistance of insects.

“We have no idea how many cancers could be treated by this method, but we have tested it on two major cancer types, solid tumour and blood cancer, and it works very well in both cases,” he said.

Wu and his fellow researchers reported their findings in last month’s Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research, concluding the pesticide could be used in combination with chemotherapeutic agents to treat cancers, especially the drug-resistant types,

According to Wu, new cancer treatments usually take years or even decades of testing before they can be used on patients, but Ivermectin is an old drug with a long history of use, making clinical trials of the hybrid treatment potentially shorter than usual and approvals easier to obtain.

The family of compounds from which Ivermectin is derived was discovered by Nobel laureates Satoshi Omura and William Campbell in the 1970s. The chemical, produced by the bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis, can kill many types of parasites including lice, mites, worms and nematodes by disrupting the fluid exchange through the insect's cell membrane.

What makes Ivermectin different from other common pesticides is its low toxicity to humans. It has been approved for clinical use by health authorities including the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organisation and can be applied directly to the skin or taken orally.

It sometimes results in mild side effects including red eyes and dry skin.

The new research by Wu’s team found Ivermectin could also suppress the expression of a protein that can help cancer cells to resist drugs.

 

[JSCh]

Fosun Pharma to Buy GlaxoSmithKline China Drug Plant for USD36 Million
TANG SHIHUA
DATE : JUL 09 2019/SOURCE : YICAI

Fosun Pharma to Buy GlaxoSmithKline China Drug Plant for USD36 Million​

(Yicai Global) July 9 -- Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) will spend CNY250 million (USD36 million) to gain the rights to UK-based GlaxoSmithKline's East China pharmaceutical factory, together with all production facilities and authorizations for its chronic hepatitis B drug.

Its Chongqing Yaoyou Pharmacy unit penned the asset purchase agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (China) Investment yesterday, Fosun Pharmaceutical announced that same day.

Fosun Pharmaceutical's shares [SHA:600196] rose 1 percent on the news to CNY26.36 (USD3.83) in morning trading.

The target plant's main asset is drug registration approval, a production license and good manufacturing practices certificates and production facilities for 0.1-gram Lamivudine tablets used to treat chronic hepatitis B, per the announcement. The factory has a designed annual output of 32.62 million boxes, each with 14 pills.