Helping the elderly treat their long-term ailments at home was the aim of many of the high-tech exhibits at this year’s Houston Abilities Expo.

Ensuring senior citizens can remain active community members was the central concern of many exhibitors at the Houston Abilities Expo.

While growing affluence got a mention, most Pharmed & Healthcare Vietnam exhibitors cited market size as prompting their participation.

Market size, rising healthcare spending and a shift to more elderly demographic buoyed attendance at the Pharmed & Healthcare Vietnam event.

On 21 October, the National Medical Products Administration and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly issued an announcement supporting research and development (R&D) on alternatives to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) materials derived from rare and endangered plants and animals. At present, the policy focuses on alternatives for pangolins, antelope horns, bezoars, bear bile powders and caterpillar fungi. R&D outcomes can be registered as scientific and technological TCM achievements and may be recommended for supporting funds. The authorities also intend to strengthen collaborative innovation between the TCM industry and the academic, research and medical sectors.

On 26 September, the National Health Commission, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration announced a set of administrative measures to regulate research activities initiated by medical and healthcare institutions in relation to the aetiology, diagnosis and treatment of diseases but not for the purpose of registering products such as drugs and medical devices. The authorities have also outlined mechanisms for the inception and completion of such research projects, their scientific and ethical review, and the disclosure of research information. The measures came into effect on 1 October.

Expansion-minded, agetech-focused multinationals were very much in evidence at this year’s well-attended Medlab Asia & Asia Health event.

The People’s Government of Guangdong Province recently issued an action plan to advance high-quality development in the bio-pharmaceutical industry. Measures involve providing greater support to industry chains for innovative drugs and medical devices; enhancing technical service capabilities and new online procurement procedures; promoting clinical trials of innovative drugs and medical devices in public hospitals; setting up scientific research and innovation platforms; facilitating the trading of bio-pharmaceutical intellectual property; accelerating the inclusion of Chinese medicine tablets in medical insurance catalogues; advancing the establishment of planting and cultivation bases for crude drugs and Chinese medicinal materials; and supporting the optimisation of the Hong Kong and Macao Medicine and Equipment Connect policy.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a final rule that effective 25 October permanently places the opioids butonitazene, flunitazene and metodesnitazene in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a final rule that effective 21 November will place the central nervous system stimulant ethlyphenidate in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.