The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern aboutmysterious pneumonia “affecting” the population of China.
At the same time, Chinese-American biochemist Wang Xiaodong argues that Chinese research is moving forward in developing innovative new drugs with billions of dollars in investment, and this move could cause disruptions similar to those seen in high-tech industries!
China currently has 10,000 major pharmaceutical companies, the world’s second-largest number of new drugs, according to government data.
As noted in the South China Morning Post, with intensive investment, scientific advancements and diligent researchers, China will lead the next research boom in innovative drugs! Wang is also the co-founder of the oncology biotech company BeiGene, which has now brought to market three innovative drugs, each developed based on his own research.
BeiGene spent $1.4 billion on pharmaceutical research and development in China in 2021, according to analytics firm GlobalData.
The company is not alone: China is now home to more than 10,000 major pharmaceutical companies developing the second-largest number of new drugs in the world, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
China has significantly increased investment in the sector in recent years due to concerns that the US – a longtime leader in biotech – could expand its technology sanctions to include key drugs.
“Chinese scientists are now engaged in innovative research and drug development. As in high-tech industries, Chinese participation could lead to disruptions,” Wang said. These disruptions could expand and speed up the delivery of innovative drugs previously available only in developed countries to 4 billion people or more, he said.
The WHO previously issued a formal request to China for detailed information on the rise in respiratory illnesses and outbreaks of childhood pneumonia, the UN agency said via its website X (formerly Twitter).
Meanwhile, a WHO spokesman confirmed to AFP that the message was genuine, that the request had indeed been sent, and that a recommendation had been made to take “measures to reduce the risk of respiratory diseases.”
The measures that WHO talks about and which it has repeatedly discussed during the novel coronavirus pandemic are, in particular, vaccination, maintaining a distance from sick people, keeping patients at home, testing and hospitalization if necessary, using masks, good ventilation of rooms and frequent hand washing .
After Chinese authorities and media reported an increase in cases of respiratory tract infections, including outbreaks of SARS in children in northern China, the WHO on November 22 requested “additional epidemiological and clinical information and laboratory test results on these outbreaks in children, using mechanism of the International Health Regulations.”
WHO “also requested additional information on recent trends in the circulation of known pathogens, particularly influenza (influenza virus), SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) affecting infants, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.” as well as the degree of strain on health care systems,” the statement adds.
WHO maintains contacts with clinicians and scientists through its partnerships and existing Chinese technical networks. According to the organization, Chinese authorities link the outbreak of respiratory diseases to the lifting of restrictions against the new coronavirus, which led to wider circulation of known pathogens.
At the press conference, government officials stressed the need to improve disease surveillance in health facilities and at the community level, as well as strengthening the health system to cope with patients, WHO recalled. She did not say how the request was granted or whether she received the requested data.
WHO has repeatedly accused Chinese authorities of a lack of transparency and cooperation during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the first cases of which were identified in China at the end of 2019. The lack of cooperation has also been criticized by the WHO and several countries during investigations to find out how the pandemic began, a question that still has no definitive answer.
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