A springboard for growth
In May 2016, the Shanghai FTZ started a pilot program for the drug MAH system, which has helped companies to reduce costs and shorten their production cycles.
One company that has benefited from this is Hua Medicine. According to its chairman Chen Li, the MAH system had accelerated the launch of one of its new drugs by two years and saved the company hundreds of millions of yuan in production line costs.
Chen explained that under the MAH system, drugs used in phase III clinical trials do not need to be administered by Hua Medicine. Moreover, drug production can be undertaken by other companies instead.
The MAH mechanism was later promoted nationwide upon its inclusion in the country's amended Drug Administration Law, which took effect in 2019.
Thanks to this system, the launch of 11 new Class I drugs was expedited in China. The procurement of special items in the field of cell and gene therapy was also facilitated, said officials from the Shanghai FTZ administration.
