July 7, 2010-Beijing, 97 innovative medicines to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes lies in the pipeline of RDPAC member companies with another 23 in development to treat related conditions, according to information which could not be comprehensive as of April 21, 2010.
According to latest survey on patients in large-medium cities organized by Prof. Yang Weiying, chairman of Chinese Diabetes Society, the age-standardized rate of diabetes among adults living in urban areas is up to 9.7% in China, that means approximately 92.4 million people in China have diabetes, among who patients suffering from type 2 diabetes accounts for more.
China is experiencing the early stage of rapid development of chronic diseases, and huge social risk is expected without powerful control. According to data forecasted by WHO in 2005, without efficient action taken, a lost of 558 zillion USD (approximate to 3.906 trillion CNY) in national income will be caused by diseases including stroke, diabetes and cardiac diseases, which may threaten the sustainable development of China potentially.
While lifestyle changes such as weight loss combined with moderate physical activity can reduce the risk for developing type 2 diabetes, medicines have been critical to improving and increase patients’ quality of life with unique effect on reducing medical expenses. In the U.S.A, it is demonstrated by research that 6.17USD of total medical expenses can be cut by each dollar spent on innovate drugs replacing existing drugs. For China, experiencing rapid epidemic of diabetes, investing in innovation of medicine to treat diabetes is of great significance.
The new medicines in development by RDPAC members include once-weekly long acting blood sugar regulation medicines and drugs modulating genes which cause type 2 diabetes. While diabetes remains a formidable foe of human health, RDPAC members not only introduce innovative drugs, but also actively support actions initiated by government and healthcare professionals and increase investment on education of healthcare professionals & public to fulfill our social responsibility in tackle the diabetes pandemic.
