Patent reform back on agenda in China

China’s 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) is moving forward with a revised draft of patent law amendments that includes increased patent protection for innovative drugs. Consideration by the NPC is the final step before enacting the amendments.

The fate of IP reforms spearheaded by Jingquan Bi came into question after Bi resigned in August as secretary of China's State Administration of Market and Supervision amid a vaccines manufacturing scandal. From 2015 until March 2018, Bi had been head of China’s State Drug Administration (SDA, now National Medical Products Administration), where he led the government’s march to bring innovative new drugs to China via a slew of regulatory reforms (see "Thinking Beyond Bi")...