Lifesaving call for action

Amid heated discussion about the film, Dying to Survive, Premier Li Keqiang has instructed relevant departments to lower the retail price of some imported lifesaving anti-cancer medicines as soon as possible, and ensure the regular supply of the medicines.

China has 4.29 million new cancer patients and 2.81 million people die of cancer each year. Some cancer patients exhaust their savings and even go into debt to buy expensive imported drugs that domestic pharmaceutical companies do not yet have the ability to produce.

Although the central government scrapped the tariffs on some anti-cancer drugs and some other imported medicines that Chinese patients rely on to treat severe diseases from May 1, to the disappointment of patients, as well as Premier Li, the retail prices of most of the medicines have remained unchanged till now.