27-May-15 China's drug regulator (CFDA) has raised steeply the fees required to register drugs and medical devices in the world's second-biggest pharmaceutical market, as a lack of resources and expertise hinders its ability to process the rising number of applications. The fee for registering a new locally-made drug will soar to RMB624,000 (USD101,000) compared with just RMB35,000 in 2013. [image: Pharma Logic Solutions].

18-May-15 State-backed pharmaceutical group Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding has teamed up with e-commerce company JD.com to further tap China's booming online drug sales market. Shanghai Pharma will operate JD's online prescription drug sales platform under an exclusive agreement, and share drug-sales related data and resources. [image: Reuters]

16-May-15 Ramsay Health Care will enter the Western China market through its partnership company Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care, which has signed a JV with hospital operator Chengdu Jinxin Healthcare Investment Management Group Ltd. The JV's five hospitals with about 2,300 beds will focus on women’s health, mental health and TCM. [image: Ramsay Sime Darby]

15-May-15 Australia is seeking closer business ties with China in areas such as medical devices, aged care, health information technology, clinical trials, hospital management, pharmaceuticals and health foods. But Australian companies will need to prepare themselves for strong competition as the Chinese government pushes hospitals to use more domestically made medical devices. [image: The Conversation_Lukas Coch / AAP]

13-May-15 China's State Council has published a plan to overhaul thousands of public county hospitals nationwide. A key reform is barring a 15% drug mark-up, which some say causes over-prescription of expensive imported drugs. An economist at the University of International Business & Economics in Beijing said hospitals will now have to raise prices on other services or lower quality levels. [image: Caixin Online]