China to further optimize industrial chain for pharmaceutical sector

BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- China will shore up weak links in the industrial chain for the pharmaceutical sector, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday.

A monitoring system for essential drugs in short supply has already been established, Zhou Jian, an official with the ministry told a press conference, adding that the supply of a total of 100 categories of the drugs has been secured.

Zhou said that the ministry will step up cooperation with relevant authorities to industrialize the innovative achievements in the pharmaceutical sector, while establishing a number of high-standard centralized production bases for bulk drugs to shore up the industrial chain.

International cooperation will also be enhanced, according to the official.

Companies in the pharmaceutical sector together raked in 3.4 trillion yuan (about 491.93 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue last year, up 80.8 percent from that of 2012, bringing its share of China's total industrial output to 4.1 percent.