Drug cost whistleblower 'threatened by makers'
By Claire Wang |
December 15, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A WHISTLEBLOWER who published online the factory gate prices of thousands of drugs claims to have received threats from pharmaceutical companies.
The founder of the Jiangyaojia.com website goes by the alias "Wei Baixing" - which translates as "for the people."
Wei, who claims to be a former executive with a drugs firm, launched the site this month, vowing "to disclose the real cost of drugs" and calling on people "to reject expensive medicines."
The site lists information on more than 14,000 commonly used medicines.
Many visitors to the website were shocked to discover that the retail prices of most of the drugs listed were more than 10 times their factory prices, Yangtze Evening News reported yesterday.
One web user quoted by the newspaper said: "A cough medicine was only 3.3 yuan (52 US cents) at the factory gate, but I paid 46 yuan for it!"
Wei claims to have received several threatening letters from pharmaceutical companies.
One company asked him to delete the prices, otherwise they would shut down the site, Wei claimed.
"I publish the prices of drugs to support calls for the country's health care system to be reformed and to benefit the public. I will stick to it," Wei told the newspaper.
Wei hopes the website will put pressure on hospitals and pharmacies setting retail prices, the newspaper said.
A doctor, surnamed Tang, confirmed the accuracy of Wei's prices, while a pharmaceutical company employee said retail prices were so high due to excessive distribution costs, the report said.
Guo Weiqing, a professor of the School of Government in Sun Yat-sen University, in Guangzhou in Guangdong Province said the website would help ensure promote self-regulation in the pharmaceutical industry, according to the report.
An earlier program by China Central Television had revealed some drugs were being sold at many times their factory prices.
It said during a drug's journey from factory to the public, a huge chunk of profits were taken by drug companies, salespeople, hospitals and doctors.
Price hikes ranged from five times to up to 20-30 times, CCTV said.
In an attempt to reduce the public's medical bills, China lowered the retail price ceiling of 82 pharmaceutical drugs by an average of 14 percent in September.
The founder of the Jiangyaojia.com website goes by the alias "Wei Baixing" - which translates as "for the people."
Wei, who claims to be a former executive with a drugs firm, launched the site this month, vowing "to disclose the real cost of drugs" and calling on people "to reject expensive medicines."
The site lists information on more than 14,000 commonly used medicines.
Many visitors to the website were shocked to discover that the retail prices of most of the drugs listed were more than 10 times their factory prices, Yangtze Evening News reported yesterday.
One web user quoted by the newspaper said: "A cough medicine was only 3.3 yuan (52 US cents) at the factory gate, but I paid 46 yuan for it!"
Wei claims to have received several threatening letters from pharmaceutical companies.
One company asked him to delete the prices, otherwise they would shut down the site, Wei claimed.
"I publish the prices of drugs to support calls for the country's health care system to be reformed and to benefit the public. I will stick to it," Wei told the newspaper.
Wei hopes the website will put pressure on hospitals and pharmacies setting retail prices, the newspaper said.
A doctor, surnamed Tang, confirmed the accuracy of Wei's prices, while a pharmaceutical company employee said retail prices were so high due to excessive distribution costs, the report said.
Guo Weiqing, a professor of the School of Government in Sun Yat-sen University, in Guangzhou in Guangdong Province said the website would help ensure promote self-regulation in the pharmaceutical industry, according to the report.
An earlier program by China Central Television had revealed some drugs were being sold at many times their factory prices.
It said during a drug's journey from factory to the public, a huge chunk of profits were taken by drug companies, salespeople, hospitals and doctors.
Price hikes ranged from five times to up to 20-30 times, CCTV said.
In an attempt to reduce the public's medical bills, China lowered the retail price ceiling of 82 pharmaceutical drugs by an average of 14 percent in September.
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