by Mark Cohen
Last week while in Beijing, I finally had the opportunity to see “Dying to Survive” (Chinese title: “我不是药神”[translation: I am not the god of medicines]), the hit Chinese movie which concerns the problem of high priced cancer medicines that were not available through insurance on the Chinese market and had also been subject to patent validity and infringement disputes. The screening I saw was filmed in Mandarin and subtitled in English. When it opened in China, the movie was the second highest grossing movie in the world, and it is now on track to gross over 3 billion RMB.
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The movie is based on an actual incident involving an individual named Lu Yong 陆勇. The movie also bears some similarity to Dallas Buyers Club, which involved distribution of AIDS medication in the United States. In real life, generic forms of Gleevec were approved by Chinese regulatory authorities in 2013. The product was also placed into the Chinese insurance reimbursement list in 2017.
The official and public reactions to the film suggest that China is indeed dedicated to both pharmaceutical IP and regulatory reform. Premier Li Keqiang cited the movie in encouraging accelerated new product introduction and lower drug prices. A translation by the Anjie law firm of an article by IPHouse on a screening of the film with leading judges, academics and lawyers is attached. Based on this article and meetings I held in China, I believe that most people thought that the movie’s message was that China needs to continue to engage in a range of legal reforms, including: accelerating approval of new drugs by China’s National Drug Administration; improving IP protection to encourage innovative drug development; and providing insurance to cover treatments.
The movie is based on an actual incident involving an individual named Lu Yong 陆勇. The movie also bears some similarity to Dallas Buyers Club, which involved distribution of AIDS medication in the United States. In real life, generic forms of Gleevec were approved by Chinese regulatory authorities in 2013. The product was also placed into the Chinese insurance reimbursement list in 2017.
The official and public reactions to the film suggest that China is indeed dedicated to both pharmaceutical IP and regulatory reform. Premier Li Keqiang cited the movie in encouraging accelerated new product introduction and lower drug prices. A translation by the Anjie law firm of an article by IPHouse on a screening of the film with leading judges, academics and lawyers is attached. Based on this article and meetings I held in China, I believe that most people thought that the movie’s message was that China needs to continue to engage in a range of legal reforms, including: accelerating approval of new drugs by China’s National Drug Administration; improving IP protection to encourage innovative drug development; and providing insurance to cover treatments.
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