I mentioned a couple weeks ago a new healthcare group in Beijing, the Beijing Healthcare Forum. I gave the last presentation, on air pollution in China. Here is their “manifesto”:

We are a group of academics and professionals engaged in projects and enterprises related to health care services.  Our goal is to better inform ourselves and others about emerging trends in the Chinese health care system and market while expanding our network of professional contacts and resources.

The next bi-monthly meeting is set for tomorrow, November 5th at Luce Restaurant. 下个周四(11月5号)会议的地点是Luce餐馆, 从鼓楼大街地铁站往南走300米, which is 300m south of the Gulou subway station on the east side of the street (see below for details and attached map).

This next meeting’s speaker will be Joan Hu (Hu Yuanqiong). She will be speaking about the evolution of Chinese Patent Law and its implications for access to medicines, taking access to anti-retrovirals as an example.  This topic is especially pertinent as China is undergoing reforms to both its healthcare and intellectual property system and more of the financial burden for the health of its citizens falls on the Chinese government.

下一次会议的演讲人是胡元琼. 他会讨论中国专利法的演变与药物可及性的关系，以抗逆转录病毒剂 (抗艾滋病药)为例。这个话题确实是重要的因为中国正在进行健康医疗改革和知识产权制度的修改而且健康费用由中国政府承担的比例，数额越来越大。

About Hu Yuanqiong (胡元琼） 演讲人简介:

HU Yuanqiong, M.Phil, LLM, lawyer; former Advocacy Advisor for the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, Médecins Sans Frontières, China office. She is currently working as Legal Consultant for China Access to Medicines Research Group and China Global Fund Watch Initiative. She also works with Natural Resources Defense Council on environmental health issues as a staff attorney.

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