This is a linkpost for /r/discussion/lw/nzi/80_of_data_in_chinese_clinical_trials_have_been/
I assume the Chinese government can't just deprive its citizens of legal medicine altogether. Either (1) enough things remain approved and enough new things keep being approved to satisfy the market for the really important remedies. Or (2) the rich will import European/American/Japanese/etc. approved medicine (which I've heard they already do to a large extent), and the poor will buy unauthorized local medicine on the black market (or unauthorized supposed imports), and be worse off than today.
But if you declare >80% of local medicine bad, and also create a huge uncertainty as to what's bad and what isn't (presumably they haven't retested all previously approved medicine), I find it hard to believe scenario 2 won't happen. And it doesn't seem to be in the Chinese government's interest if they want to improve the state of local medicine. At least not in the short to medium term.
I'm confused, and I don't think I'm seeing the whole picture.
The Chinese used to be very lax about approving medicine. They changed and decided to have higher standards that declare 80% of the medicine to be bad. This means that in the future Chinese companies that want to get new drugs on the market have to do things differently.
But if you declare >80% of local medicine bad
They are declare >80% of "1,622 clinical trials for new pharmaceutical drugs currently awaiting approval" to be bad. That doesn't mean that they take existing drugs off the market.
...I'm confused, and I don't think I'm seei