This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. At the 23^rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as “SCO”) in July, President Xi Jinping highlighted that we should uphold the Shanghai Spirit, step up coordination, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning and forge closer bonds between peoples, and deepen cooperation in health and culture and other fields.

On the afternoon of September 25, the second Shanghai Cooperation Organization Pharmaceutical Cooperation Development Conference (hereinafter referred to as “Conference”) was successfully co-hosted by the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the SCO (hereinafter referred to as “GNFCC SCO”), the SCO Secretariat, Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the People’s Republic of China, and China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association (hereinafter referred to as “PhIRDA”). The Conference is a brand event under the SCO framework held for the second time bringing together the senior representatives from the government of the SCO countries. The Conference is an important opportunity to present China’s pharmaceutical innovation capacity and a significant measure to promote the building of a Health Silk Road. As an important platform for strengthening the exchanges between the pharmaceutical fields and dialogues of drug regulators from the SCO countries, the Conference plays a critical role in building regular dialogue mechanisms and a closer partnership.

Under the theme of “Promote Pharmaceutical Regulatory Cooperation for a Shared Future of Health for Us All”, Cui li, vice president of the GNFCC SCO, Niyazaliev Nuran, deputy secretary-general of the SCO made welcome remarks. With Chengdu as the Guest City of the Conference, Wang Qian, deputy mayor of Chengdu Municipal People’s Government addressed a welcome remark. Zhang Haizhou, the National Coordinator of China of the SCO, Qin Xiaoling, director general, Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation of National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China, Li Shuo, deputy director general, Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce of China, Song Ruilin, executive president of PhIRDA, Yu Hui, director of the Management Committee of Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone attended the Conference. Seyyed Heydar Mohammadi, head of Iran Food and Drug Administration, Asim Rauf, chief executive officer of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Shahlo Turdikulova, deputy minister of Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Moldakhmetova Bayan, deputy general manager and board member of the National Drug and Medical Device Identification Center of the Medical Regulatory Commission of the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, Zhang Jianwu, director of Division of General Affairs, Department of Drug Registration of National Medical Products Administration of China,Shakirova Gulmira Abidinovna, director of SOE Kyrgyzpharmacy under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, Valentina Vladimirovna Kosenko, acting general director, Federal State Budgetary Institution ‘Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products’ of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Heng Bunkiet, secretary of state, Ministry of Health of Kingdom of Cambodia,Sultana Essa Bin Haider, member of Youth Council and head of Quality Control Laboratory for Medical Products Section of Drug Department of United Arab Emirates, and Nyi Nyi Win, deputy director (Drug Control), Food and Drug Administration of Ministry of Health of Myanmar addressed keynote speeches. Attendees included about 30 heads, senior representatives, and experts from the departments related to healthcare and technological innovation from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and the United Arabs Emirates.

Conference

Representatives from the sectors related to healthcare and drug regulation from the SCO countries introduced the development situation of their pharmaceutical industry in detail and their policies of drug regulation. The participating parties shared potential cooperation opportunities and development prospects. All parties expressed that they will proactively conduct broad and deep exchanges and cooperation in the pharmaceutical fields, and constantly promote and improve the exchange and dialogues mechanism of drug regulators under the SCO framework, strengthen the exchanges and mutual learning of pharmaceutical polices and technologies among SCO countries, to enable more benefits of innovation will reach people from the SCO countries as soon as possible.

During the conference, panel discussion unfolded under the theme of “Strengthen International Cooperation in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Promote Mutual Recognition of Drug Regulation under the SCO Framework”.At the panel discussion, Song Ruilin, moderator of the Panel, addressed a leading speech. Under the guidance of national strategies such as the innovation-driven development strategy and Healthy China Initiative, China’s pharmaceutical innovation environment has been greatly improved. Currently, the mission of pharmaceutical innovative R&D has turned to a people-centered new dual-circulation development paradigm which takes the domestic market as the mainstay, and lets the domestic and international markets reinforce each other. China’s pharmaceutical industry has entered into a stage of high-quality development, with a wealth of innovative results. China has always stayed committed to establishing a new type partnership of global development which is more equitable and balanced, sticking together, jointly shouldering responsibilities, and increasing common interests of humanity. The results of China’s pharmaceutical innovation and development should benefit SCO countries as China’s high-quality and low-cost innovative drugs creates greater clinical benefits.

Shakirova Gulmira Abidinovna, director of SOE Kyrgyzpharmacy under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, Dilbar Dalimova, deputy director, Center of Advanced Technology of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ding Lieming, chairman of the Board & CEO of Betta Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd., Liu Dianbo, chairman of the board, CEO of Luye Life Sciences Group, Chen Li, founder, executive director, CEO of Hua Medicine, and Chen Bing, vice president, International Business Development, Venture Fund of AstraZeneca discussed the development, current situations, future plans, and suggestions for the pharmaceutical industries of the SCO countries under the SCO framework.

Shakirova Gulmira Abidinovna pointed out that, the Kyrgyz Republic is now proactively conducting cooperation under the SCO framework, to build synergy with the participating countries of the BRI in the pharmaceutical field. As for the focal point of cooperation between countries, Dilbar Dalimova said that cooperation in the SCO innovative pharmaceutical industries needs to be conducted on the basis of regular exchange mechanisms involving various industrial entities, to promote coordinated standards, mutual reliance and mutual recognition in the aspect of national drug regulation, to further facilitate cooperation and development.

Panelists all acknowledged the great importance of regular exchange mechanisms, and reached a consensus that facilitating the establishment of standards and mutual recognition will help the SCO countries to access the drugs that meet their clinical needs sooner, benefiting more people of the SCO countries. Moreover, since the standards of approval of innovative drugs in China now is in line with international standards, cooperation and innovation under the SCO framework will not only facilitate the “going global” of products, but also show China’s sense of responsibility as a major country in the pharmaceutical industry.

Panel Discussion

The participating countries jointly announced the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Pharmaceutical Cooperation Development Conference Suzhou Initiative, injecting new and strong vitality to building a closer SCO community with a shared future. The departments of healthcare and drug regulation, institutions, and the industrial sectors attach great importance to the cooperation between the SCO member states, observer states, dialogue partners in the pharmaceutical fields, and will proactively leverage the role of the SCO as a platform, to further promote an international cooperative mode of drug and medical devices R&D featuring win-win results, promote international cooperation in drug approval and regulation, facilitate international mutual recognition in drug regulation, and spread the fruits of innovation to more people in the SCO countries as soon as possible.

The Conference has built a bridge of mutual benefits and connectivity. Participants of the Conference reached a consensus that it is needed to jointly explore new ways of cooperation in drug regulation, broaden and deepen cooperation, to promote the high-quality development of cooperation in the pharmaceutical fields of the SCO countries, open new ground for win-win innovative cooperation in the pharmaceutical industries, improve the healthcare of the SCO countries, enhance people’s well-being, and jointly build a bright future!