How Long Can the “Sap Aisi” Incident Last?

The pharmaceutical industry has always been fiercely competitive. Rivals exposing each other’s secrets is something we occasionally hear about abroad, but an exposé of this magnitude at home is truly rare — and its scale is almost unimaginable.

In years past, when competition heated up, companies typically fought turf wars — pressuring regional hospitals and calling it a day. Few were willing to air anyone’s dirty laundry. After all, we’re talking about entire brands here; a revelation like that could jeopardize the very survival of a major pharmaceutical company.

Scientific research is rigorous by nature and demands replication. Historically, the efficacy and safety of many drugs have undergone countless rounds of evaluation, with our understanding of them deepening over time. Now that someone has raised concerns about the marketing claims of these eye drops, that’s a positive development. However, there are still many similar drugs being used in people’s daily lives.

What we should be doing now is continuously improving drug R&D and post-market surveillance. The media, too, must act with a conscience. I’ve always felt that medical advertising shouldn’t be promoted at all — what should be promoted is science education. China desperately lacks public science literacy. Why is it that manufacturers can run a few ads and a little marketing and sell drugs or supplements so successfully?

Science education matters enormously. If the public’s scientific literacy doesn’t improve, similar incidents will keep happening, and people will feel that moral standards are in decline. The truth, of course, is far more nuanced — there have always been clever people in the world.

药品行业向来竞争激烈，互相揭发老底的在国外时有耳闻，然后国内爆出这种事件确实少见，其手笔之大，令人难以想象。

前几年，若是竞争激烈了，往往是打地盘战，威胁威胁地区医院也就完了，很少有人愿意揭人老底，毕竟这关系一个品牌，很有可能会危机一个大药厂的生存。

科学试验是严谨的，是需要不断重复的，历史上许多药物的有效性和安全性都经历了数论评价，人们对他们的认知随之不断深入，现在有人提出这个滴眼液宣传上有问题，这是好事，不过，还有很多其他类似的药物仍然在人们日常生活中使用。

现在要做的应当是不断完善对药品的研发和监控，媒体要有良知，医疗类的广告我总感觉还是不应该宣传，应该宣传的是科普知识，中国太缺科普了，为什么厂家做点广告做点营销就能把药品或者保健品卖的这么好？

科普很重要，如果我们国民的科普知识没有提高的话，类似的事件仍然会不断发生，民众就会觉得世风日下，其实并不如此，世上总是有聪明人的。