Time to fix the ills of Chinese pharma, says CFDA director

The past and present failings of the Chinese pharma industry have been highlighted by Bi Jingquan, the director of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).

Mr Bi was giving a speech at the National Videophone Conference on implementing the measures outlined in a CFDA document entitled Opinions on Deeping the Review and Approval System Reform and Encouraging the Drug and Medical Device Innovation.

He said that there should be a “sense of urgency” and “sense of mission” in fulfilling the strategy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who in 2015 asked for the swift establishment of a science-based, faultless food and drug safety governance system to strictly” protect every defense line from farm to table, from laboratory to hospital”.