Outpatient intravenous therapy ban hitting drugmakers hard
Jiangsu province latest to implement restriction, with 460 if its state hospitals to stop offering the option
Some of the country’s largest drugmakers focusing on infusion medications and antibiotics have been hit hard by the gradual banning, over the past two years, of intravenous (IV) drug infusion at major Chinese hospital outpatient departments.
On July 1, south eastern China’s Jiangsu province became the latest to implement the ban, ordered 460 if its state hospitals to stop offering IV therapy to outpatients.
Over the past two years, similar measures have been taken by other provincial governments, including central Anhui and southeastern Zhejiang.
“The business environment has been changing since 2014, and that may spell tougher than ever market conditions ahead for infusion solutions producers and antibiotic makers,” said Shi Lichen, founder of Dingchen Pharmaceutical Management Consulting.
China is the world’s largest manufacturer and consumer of antibiotics, with as much as 162,000 tonnes, roughly half of the world’s total, consumed in 2013, according to a study by the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry.
It has not been uncommon for mainland Chinese to buy the drugs — originally designated prescription-only from doctors — over the counter at local pharmacies, and for patients suffering from minor illnesses such as flu to receive antibiotic infusion therapy at hospitals and clinics.
A recent World Health Organisation survey of 1,000 Chinese showed that 61 per cent of respondents incorrectly believed colds and flu could be treated with antibiotics.