BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers have called for more administrative support for the country's pharmaceutical industry to boost the development of new drugs.
The suggestion was made Monday by members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress while deliberating the report on enforcement of the Drug Administration Law and the central government's report on drug management.
Both reports were submitted to the committee at the beginning of its bi-monthly session last Thursday.
On pharmaceutical companies' lack of innovation, Li Lu, a member of the committee, summarized the major causes as insufficient policy support and the protection of intellectual property.
To address that, a series of favorable policies in funds, taxation and cooperation with research institutes were proposed by members during the panel discussion.
Shi Lianxi, another member of the committee, urged incentives to develop new drugs for the Chinese market.
Another focus of the discussion was Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Standing Committee Member Long Chaoyun called for support in research and development of TCM drugs, especially those used by ethnic minority groups for thousands of years.
Supervision of TCM drugs should also be strengthened, according to Gu Shengzu, another member.
In the meantime, some members suggested different approaches in supervising chemical drugs and TCM drugs, as well as giving TCM experts more weight in the drug regulator's daily operations.
Lawmakers also highlighted the supervision of online drug sales.
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