cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29436532
Public anger in China over concerns raised by doctors that generic drugs used in public hospitals are increasingly ineffective has led to a rare response from the government.
Doctors say they believe the country’s drug procurement system, which incentivises the use of cheap generic drugs over original brand-name pharmaceuticals, has led to costs being cut at the expense of people’s safety.
But officials, quoted by multiple state media outlets on Sunday, say the issue is one of perception rather than reality.
One report said different people simply had different reactions to medicines and that claims about them being ineffective had “mostly come from people’s anecdotes and subjective feelings”.
The official response has done little to allay public fears over the reputation of drugs in public hospitals and pharmacies. It is the latest challenge to a healthcare system that is already under enormous strain because of a rapidly ageing population.
…
country’s procurement system is accused of costs being cut at the expense of people’s safety
How unsurprisingly capitalistic of the CCP…
As far as I understand, the CCP has a central procurement system where it purchases a significant portion of the expected need for a drug in bulk each year. This “forces” the drug companies to offer a much lower price (or lose the sale to a competitor), allowing the medication to be provided cheaper to the people. Similar models exist in most countries with a form of centralised health care. In China however, there have been reports of close to break-even or loss prices for the manufacturers, leading to potential cutting of corners by the manufacturers.
Wouldn’t capatilistic be allowing the companies to sell their drugs for a higher price to end users directly?
Had a batch of generic vyvanse from china. Didn’t do a god dammed thing, and my job suffered for the month. Now I’m back in name brand, works again.
Fuck Chinese generics.