China advised to create drug brands

China should invest more in researching and developing new drugs, as well as intellectual property protection, even though generic versions of existing brand-name drugs can bring short-term benefits, said Margaret Chan, former director-general of the World Health Organization.

"Inexpensive generic drugs from India may play an important role in helping patients in poorer countries and regions, but China should not completely copy India's model because the country is capable of creating innovative new drugs, original ones," she said.

Chan made the remark on Thursday after watching the Chinese box-office hit Dying to Survive, a film about a man smuggling cheap versions of leukemia medications from India for resale to patients in China.