SHANGHAI (Reuters)—China’s health tracking QR codes, which have played a key part in the country’s successful containment of COVID-19, now look set to play a much broader role in daily life as local authorities dream up new uses for the technology. Embedded in the popular WeChat and Alipay smartphone apps, the codes use self-reported and…
China Approves Use of Tocilizumab for Coronavirus Patients
BEIJING (Reuters)—China will use a Roche Holding AG arthritis drug to treat some coronavirus patients in severe conditions, health authorities said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to build up treatment regimens to help the infected recover. Tocilizumab, sold by the Swiss pharma giant under the trade name Actemra, can be prescribed to coronavirus patients…
Iguratimod May Hold Promise for Treating Autoimmune Disease
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Iguratimod, a disease-modifying drug marketed in China and Japan, appears to be effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and possibly other autoimmune diseases, while protecting against adverse bone effects, researchers from China say. Iguratimod is a methane sulfonanilide compound that influences several anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory pathways and has an anabolic effect on…
Rheumatology in China from Its Beginning to Today
Rheumatology in China is a relatively young discipline, but it has developed exponentially over the past three decades. In this article, we review the history of rheumatology in China and advances in clinical care, research and education in this field. The Founding Father Naizheng Zhang, MD, is widely regarded as the father of rheumatology in…
Five Charged in U.S. with Stealing Secrets from GlaxoSmithKline
REUTERS—Five people, including two former GlaxoSmithKline researchers, were charged with a scheme to steal trade secrets from the British drugmaker for potential sale in China, according to indictments announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The indictments include charges of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to…
Regulatory Backlog in Emerging Nations Adding Years to Drug Approvals
BASEL (Reuters)—A regulatory backlog in developing countries including China has created wait times for drugs awaiting approval of up to seven years, Roche Holding AG Chief Executive Severin Schwan said on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, time lines are getting longer and longer in countries like China,” Schwan said at an oncology event at the Swiss company’s headquarters…
Governments Are Not Following Advice on MERS
GENEVA (Reuters)—Governments are not doing all they should to tackle the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a committee of health experts at the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The WHO’s emergency committee, which meets regularly to consider the international response to the disease, said in a statement that its advice had not been completely…
China Gets Tougher for Western Drugmakers
LONDON (Reuters)—The Chinese market is getting tougher for Western pharmaceutical companies as Beijing bears down on a rising healthcare bill and prices come under pressure. The country, which has overtaken Japan as the world’s second largest market for prescription medicines after the U.S., has drawn major investment from global drugmakers in recent years — but…
China to Expand Medical Insurance for Major Illnesses
BEIJING (Reuters)—China will expand medical insurance to cover all critical illnesses for all urban and rural residents by the end of the year, the cabinet said on Sunday, the latest step in a plan to fix a healthcare system that has sparked public discontent. The State Council said 50% of the medical costs will be…
Bigger May Not Be Better for China’s ‘Super Hospitals’
ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters)—Just before midnight, the pavement outside the glowing high-rise towers of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University is littered with slumbering bodies. Splayed on colourful mats or tucked into folding cots, these are patients’ relatives. Inside, beds line hallways and crowd elevator lobbies, while relatives share gurneys with patients and doze in…