Challenges for drug discovery and development in China

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The drug development industry is restructuring worldwide in terms of the research and development process. As with pharmaceuticals in the west, China faces major challenges for drug discovery and development.

Areas covered: In this review, the authors discuss anti-cancer, anti-allergy, anti-infectious, and proprietary Chinese Medicines (pCM) for various chronic diseases (such as the allergic diseases: eczema, asthma and allergic rhinitis), which remain the contemporary therapeutic strategies that are being explored and developed. Drug transporters, disease specific biomarkers, pharmacophores, bioactive natural products and pharmacogenetics are some aspects of research technologies. Proprietary Chinese medicine remains one of the most popular strategies. There is however the issue of good research documentation of efficacy versus adverse effects. China has a complex healthcare system involving a large patient pool.

Expert opinion: Various factors can impact drug development in China including the concurrent use of both western and Chinese medicines, pharmacogenetic variances, lack of multidisciplinary team impact on disease management and drug safety. China may adopt the current development of big data analysis in other countries such as UK and US to build and centralize a nationwide database for better monitoring and clinical evaluation to provide more efficient care at a lower cost.

KEYWORDS:

• Challenges
• drug discovery and development
• China
• Chinese medicine
• drug transporters
• disease specific biomarkers
• pharmacophores
• bioactive natural products

Article highlights

• China faces major challenges for drug discovery and development.

• Anticancer, anti-allergy, anti-infectious, and proprietary Chinese Medicines (pCM) for various chronic diseases remain the contemporary therapeutic strategies which are being explored and developed.

• Drug transporters, disease specific biomarkers, pharmacophores, bioactive natural products and pharmacogenetics are some aspects of research technologies.

• Proprietary Chinese medicine remains one of the most popular strategies. The issue is the lack of good research documentation of efficacy versus adverse effects.

• China may adopt the current development of big data analysis in other countries to build and centralize national wide database for better monitoring and clinical evaluation to provide more efficient care with lower cost.

• Future perspectives to ensure drug development and safety require multidisciplinary approaches both in drug development phrase (pre-clinical) and post marketed phrase (clinical). In both phrases, scientist, pharmacologists, clinicians, researchers in academia, health authority and industry stakeholders should closely monitor and document the potential drug-related toxicology and adverse reactions experienced in the animal models and patients.

• Health authority should report and educate both healthcare professionals and patients on the latest safety issue related to both experimental and marketed drugs.

• Public education should be provided to citizens about the importance of reporting potential drug-related problems and/or any adverse drug reactions to their doctors, pharmacists and health authorities.

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.

Acknowledgments

This manuscript had its English reviewed by Professor John Rudd from the School of Biomedical Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The authors acknowledge that they have been involved in TCM trials. KLE Hon has been involved in several previous publications on three allergic disorders and PentaHerbs.

Declaration of interest

Hon has received a Hong Kong Government Grant entitled ‘the Health and Health Services Research Fund’ by the Food and Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (#02030381). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Additional information

Funding

This manuscript has not been funded.