Approval of anticancer drugs to be accelerated

China will speed up the registration and approval of anticancer drugs produced by both domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies, according to a notice released by the General Office of the State Council on June 4.

The notice on the key tasks for deepening reform of the pharmaceutical and medical system also called for heightened efforts in cancer prevention and screening and the enabling of early diagnosis and treatment.

There will be unimpeded import channels for anticancer drugs that are desperately needed in clinical applications, the notice said.

The prevention and treatment of occupational diseases, AIDS and tuberculosis will be stepped up, and reform of public hospitals moved forward, it said.

Reforms to cut red tape and reinforce compliance oversight will be furthered in the health sector, the notice said, adding that biased policies will be scrapped so that private medical institutions can receive the same treatment and support as their public counterparts.

The ongoing Health China campaign will allow individuals, authorities and social institutions to take part in the publicizing of health knowledge, the notice said.

The early warning and monitoring system for drugs that are in shortage will be refined. For drugs that are prone to shortage and irreplaceable, the authorities will adopt measures such as unified procurement and the designation of producers to ensure their supply.

Authorities will select 500 county-level hospitals and 500 traditional Chinese medicine hospitals to take part in a capacity-building campaign, the notice added.

Small firms to benefit from credit relaxation

China will allow a higher ratio of nonperforming loans made to micro-sized and small businesses and lower the financing costs for such businesses to boost entrepreneurship and innovation, the State Council decided at an executive meeting on June 5.

The ratio of nonperforming loans to micro-sized and small businesses will be relaxed to no more than 3 percentage points higher than the overall ratio, from the current 2 percentage points, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The meeting also pledged greater support to venture capital businesses as they are set to receive incentives in financing through bond issuance.

The statement also highlighted the important role of business startups and innovation in supporting employment, including creating more jobs that suit the needs of key groups of people such as college graduates and demobilized military personnel. The government will come up with regulations to improve the business environment and expand reform of government functions to lower institutional transaction costs.

Innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration centers will be encouraged to undertake pilot programs in the approval and implementation of science and technology projects, confirmation of ownership rights to research findings and the commercialization of research findings, the statement said.

The meeting also decided on measures to build platforms for business startups and innovation, and to promote the integrated development of companies of different sizes. In a bid to promote innovation by enterprises of all types, the government will establish incentive mechanisms regarding stock rights and remuneration.

The development of the industrial internet will be accelerated, and the authorities will promote broader application of the Internet Plus model in medical care, elderly care, education and other social sectors, the statement said.

The meeting also passed a draft revision to the law on the prevention and treatment of solid waste pollution, which will be submitted to the top legislature for review.

The draft clarifies the responsibilities of entities that produce solid waste and refines the discharging permit mechanism. It also calls for quicker establishment of a system to sort domestic garbage during its collection, treatment and disposal.