Small package of Chinese herbal medicine pieces will be fully promoted

Last week, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine announced the fourth draft of the "Guidelines for the Application of Small Packages of Chinese Herbal Medicines (Draft for Comment)", on which public comments were sought.

The so-called small package of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces is a traditional Chinese medicine decoction piece that can be packaged according to the set dose and can be directly "packed". The "Draft for Comment" has standardized the specifications, packaging, and storage management of small packaged pieces, and said that it will be promoted and used in a wider range of countries. What is the impact of the uniform regulation and further popularization of small packaged pieces on the production enterprises and the whole decoction piece industry?
According to the "Medicine Economics" reporter, the main market for traditional Chinese medicine is currently in the terminal hospital. The top three hospitals in some cities (including the West Hospital) started using small packaged pieces two or three years ago. Since August last year, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine has conducted pilot projects in nearly 20 medical institutions.
“Small packaged pieces are standardized in the hospital, which means that the company must produce uniform packaging and small pieces to provide products that meet the hospital's requirements.” Guangzhou Caizhilin Pharmaceutical (formerly Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals) General Zhou Lushan told reporters that some clinics A large number of hospitals, for the convenience of drug collection, as early as 2004 began to use small package pieces, but the specifications and packaging of the pieces provided by various manufacturers are not uniform.
According to the requirements of the "Draft for Comment", the product setting of small packaged pieces must be "different from medicine", in line with the characteristics of clinical prescription drugs, and does not limit or substantially limit the amount of prescription drugs. For example, as a common variety of small packaged pieces of licorice, there are three different specifications (3g/bag, 6g/bag and 10g/bag respectively), then the number of specifications of the variety is 3, and the specifications are 3g, 6g and 10g.
In terms of packaging materials, the "Draft for Comment" proposed the use of five kinds of packaging materials such as polyethylene composite plastic film, fiber filter paper, and non-woven bag. From the reality, most of the packaging materials used by enterprises are * kinds of materials.
The reporter learned that after nearly a year of trials and summaries, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that it is feasible to promote the use of small packaged pieces on a larger scale, which can effectively solve the problems of traditional large packaging. "There are advantages such as improving efficiency, accurate dosage, easy review, and at the same time reducing waste of medicinal materials, facilitating the standardization, standardization and branding of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces, and promoting the development of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces to industrialization." The "Consultation Draft" is stated.
It is reported that the consultation will be completed on April 18. At that time, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine will hold a summary meeting on the pilot work of small packaged decoction pieces at the end of April, and finalize the "Consultation Draft".
In the cost controversy interview, the reporter clearly felt the enthusiasm of medical institutions for the promotion and use of small packaged pieces, especially in the southern areas. In addition to the cumbersome problems of pharmacy staff weighing drugs and pharmacy hygiene, medical institutions are welcoming small packages, because the climate in the south is humid and the large packaged pieces are prone to mildew. However, most of the production companies interviewed by the reporter have different opinions.
Zhou Lushan believes that the use of small packaging is only a change in the packaging method, not only does not improve the technical content and quality of the pieces, but increases the production cost of the enterprise. “In addition to the cost of packaging materials, labor costs are also one aspect. Nowadays, small packaging is mainly based on semi-manual and semi-mechanical methods, and small packaging means multiplication of labor costs.”
Some insiders worry that in order to ensure profits, the increase in the cost of production will likely lead to an increase in the ex-factory price of the pieces. As a result, medical institutions will also adjust the retail price accordingly, which is not conducive to the further promotion of the pieces.
Huang Zhihai, deputy director of the Pharmacy Department of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told the reporter of the "Pharmaceutical Economics" that the hospital began to use small packaged pieces in 2004 and has been using the retail price when using large packaging. He said that if the manufacturer raises the ex-factory price due to the change of packaging, and hopes that the production enterprise can partially make profits, the terminal will introduce some brand promotion measures for the enterprise to make up for the increase of the cost of the production enterprise.
Another business person believes that the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine does not raise the price has certain special characteristics. If the small package of pieces is fully promoted, the price increase is definitely a trend. "The use of small packaging, the price will certainly rise." Beijing Shuangqiao Yanjing Chinese Herbal Pieces Factory Su Guiyun pointed out.
In fact, Su Guiyun does not advocate the promotion of small packaged pieces. She told reporters that in the north, medical institutions rarely use small packages. If it is to be fully promoted, the large-scale use of plastic film packaging bags will not only cause waste of resources, but also generate a large amount of plastic garbage, which is unfavorable to environmental protection.
It is reported that Guangdong Kangmei Pharmaceutical has launched a small package of Chinese herbal medicines. Li Jianhua, the general manager of its Guangdong branch, believes that enterprises should consider the cost of patients and terminals and consume some costs in order to promote the further development of the Chinese medicine decoction piece industry.