Last week while in Beijing, I finally had the opportunity to see “Dying to Survive” (Chinese title: “我不是药神”[translation: I am not the god of medicines]), the hit Chinese movie which concerns the problem of high priced cancer medicines that were not available through insurance on the Chinese market and had also been subject to patent validity and infringement disputes. The screening I saw was filmed in Mandarin and subtitled in English. When it opened in China, the movie was the second highest grossing movie in the world, and it is now on track to gross over 3 billion RMB.
The cancer medicine that is the focus of the movie is Imatinib Mesylate (Gleevec/Glivec), which was marketed by Novartis and is used to treat Leukemia. The protagonist, Cheng Yong 程勇, was approached by a leukemia patient to travel to India and supply this person and others with a generic form of Novartis’ Gleevec. Cheng Yong buys Gleevec for 500 RMB a box, and resells it at a 2,000 RMB, but which is still cheaper than Novartis’ offering (40,000 RMB).
Cheng Yong evolves over time from an unsympathetic trafficker in black market drugs and possibly substandard medication for local patients to the lifeline of leukemia patients of an effective generic throughout China. The evolution begins after nearly being arrested for selling counterfeit medicines when he briefly renounces his business in favor of a competitor. However, he is soon approached by leukemia patients who desperately need his product at a reasonable price. He ultimately subsidizes the sale of Gleevec in China with his own money by distributing the product at cost. Cheng Yong is thereafter arrested and sentenced. He is released from jail early after petitioning by patients he has helped. By contrast, the Novartis anti-counterfeiting investigator’s role remains a one-dimensional villain throughout the movie. The movie closes by noting that Imatinib Mesylate was ultimately made available legally and placed on insurance reimbursement lists and that new laws and regulations have been introduced since the incident described in the film.
The movie is based on an actual incident involving an individual named Lu Yong 陆勇. The movie also bears some similarity to Dallas Buyers Club, which involved distribution of AIDS medication in the United States. In real life, generic forms of Gleevec were approved by Chinese regulatory authorities in 2013. The product was also placed into the Chinese insurance reimbursement list in 2017.
The official and public reactions to the film suggest that China is indeed dedicated to both pharmaceutical IP and regulatory reform. Premier Li Keqiang cited the movie in encouraging accelerated new product introduction and lower drug prices. A translation by the Anjie law firm of an article by IPHouse on a screening of the film with leading judges, academics and lawyers is attached. Based on this article and meetings I held in China, I believe that most people thought that the movie’s message was that China needs to continue to engage in a range of legal reforms, including: accelerating approval of new drugs by China’s National Drug Administration; improving IP protection to encourage innovative drug development; and providing insurance to cover treatments.
