CIIE attracts top pharma innovations

Multinational companies will show latest medical breakthroughs

Multinational pharmaceutical companies will showcase their latest innovations at the upcoming China International Import Expo, which they see as an ideal chance for China to share opportunities with the outside world.

Their active participation in the seventh edition of CIIE, which will be held in Shanghai in East China in early November, not only demonstrates their strong commitment to the China market, but will ultimately help realize the vision of Healthy China 2030.

Biopharmaceutical company Teva, which will participate in CIIE for the third consecutive year, will showcase two products that are making their China debut: Austedo XR, an extended-release tablet approved last year by the United States Food and Drug Administration for chorea associated with Huntington's disease and tardive dyskinesia in adults, and Regro, a medicine for external use for people troubled by hair loss.

Compared to a previous product, the new extended-release Austedo XR tablets offer a one dose per day option, enhancing patient and caregiver compliance, and reducing fluctuations of the drug level in plasma, according to the company.

Regro contains minoxidil, a medication for treating hair loss that Teva says will help enrich options for hair loss sufferers in China.

A report released by the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in September 2023, showed that the number of Chinese people troubled by hair loss was growing and they were getting younger.

Fosun Pharma will showcase an upgraded model of a cutting-edge, non-invasive medical device to treat Essential Tremor and Parkinson's disease.

The new model, which will make its debut at this year's CIIE, has been approved for clinical use in Europe and the United States, and its registration application in China has been submitted.

Combining the precision targeting of focused ultrasound with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the device enables high-intensity focused ultrasound to accurately ablate the lesion for therapeutic purposes, according to Fosun Pharma.

The innovation of the new model lies in its ability to provide a non-invasive surgical treatment option for Essential Tremor and Parkinson's disease with tremor as the primary symptom, which are clinically difficult to control with medication, said the company.

Also, the new model is compatible with a wider range of brands and models of MRI equipment, expanding the application of the technology.

The company said that the technology has successfully treated over 20,000 patients worldwide.

At the booth of US-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Seladelpar, a rare disease drug approved by the US FDA in August for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), will make its China debut. The innovative medicine brings a new option to the second-line treatment of such patients.

The company's 11 innovative therapies in the fields of virology, oncology and mycology, that have already been marketed in China, will also be exhibited during the expo.

"CIIE is an international stage to share China's opportunities and promote exchanges and collaborations. It's also the preferred place for us to participate in first-store and first-launch economies, and the adhesive to link cooperation," said Jim Jin, vice-president and China unit general manager of Gilead Sciences.