SHANGHAI, China, Aug. 9 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Recently, WuXi PharmaTech's Chairman and CEO, Dr. Ge Li participated in a panel discussion focused on the importance of enforcing intellectual property protection in China entitled ''Intellectual Property (IP) Protection in China: Where Are We Headed?'' Organized and hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in the People's Republic of China (AmCham-China) and by the Capital Media Community, the meeting is a summit between media circles and businesses that aims to build awareness of intellectual property protection and, by advocating this protection, to foster an environment in China that encourages innovation.
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Attendees included representatives of many US-based companies including Pfizer, Nike, IBM, Dupont, Agilent, GlaxoSmithKline and GE, as well as over 40 senior editors from a variety of renowned media outlets in China including CCTV, People's Daily, China Daily and China Medicine News. Dr. Ge Li was honored to attend this event.
Professor Cheng-Si Zheng, Director of the Intellectual Property Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and deputy of the National People's Congress and member of China's Legal Committee, delivered a compelling presentation on IP protection & economic development in China. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion on IP protection. Discussion panelists included Professor Cheng-Si Zheng; Allan Gabor, CEO of Pfizer (China); Patrick Wong, Chief Representative of Nike in China; James Haynes, International Director of China International Famous Brand Association; Wang Yong, Senior lawyer of American Film Association; Zou Bian, Secretary-general of China Software Association, and Dr. Ge Li. The panelists explored the issues surrounding IP protection in their own industries, discussed the future outlook and answered the questions from audiences.
The panelists agreed that since entering into the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has taken many major steps to increase the protection of intellectual property rights. Dr. Ge Li stated that the high research and development cost of developing a novel drug makes protection of intellectual property an overriding concern of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The state of IP protection in China's pharmaceutical industry has been greatly improved in recent years due to strong and consistent efforts by the Chinese government and a number of agencies. He also expressed his hope that the media will more actively participate in educating Chinese for IP rights and protections. Without strong IP protection, Dr. Li warned, the international companies will hesitate to introduce novel drugs to China, which could result in the lower quality of life for Chinese. Commenting on WuXi PharmaTech, Dr. Li said that if there had been no dramatic improvements in IP protection in China, no R&D service industry-and no WuXi PharmaTech would exist today. WuXi PharmaTech has spearheaded many initiatives in China to protect IP rights for its partners.
About WuXi PharmaTech
Shanghai-based WuXi PharmaTech Co., Ltd. offers global pharmaceutical/bio- pharmaceutical companies diverse outsourcing services in combinatorial, medicinal, synthetic chemistry and manufacturing. Importantly, it also allows them to take full advantage of the lower research costs in China. WuXi PharmaTech's rapidly expanding line of services ranges from early stage discovery chemistry through lead optimization chemistry, all the way to process research & development and bulk manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients. With the addition of a new GMP plant at Jinshan in Shanghai, WuXi PharmaTech has further increased its bulk production capacity to meet rapidly growing customer demand. WuXi PharmaTech's strong capabilities and proven track record enable the Company to provide a broad spectrum of integrated development services from milligram to metric ton scaled active pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates and raw materials. Currently, WuXi PharmaTech's client list includes over 60 leading drug discovery companies covering a majority of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.
For more information, please contact: Shengxu Zhao, Business Development Department, WuXi PharmaTech Co., Ltd. Tel: +86-21-5046-2435 or 5046-0095 x806 Fax: +86-21-5046-1087 Email: zhao_shengxu@pharmatechs.com Web: http://www.pharmatechs.com/http://www.pharmatechs-us.com/
Web Sites: http://www.pharmatechs.com http://www.pharmatechs-us.com
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