BEIJING - A total of 117 new medicines developed by Chinese researchers have been certified thanks to support from a major national project, a health official said on Dec 22.

Yu Jingjin, in charge of pharmaceutical policies at the National Health Commission, said this means Chinese researchers' focus is rapidly shifting from making generic drugs to making original ones.

Launched in 2008, the national project aims to develop or modify medicines for 10 critical diseases, including malignant tumors.

As of the end of October 2018, the project had spent over 19 billion yuan (around $2.76 billion) from central finance, Yu said.

About 170 medicines from enterprises supported by the project are now registered and on sale in the US, while nearly 100 new medicines are currently in the clinical trial phase, according to Yu.

In addition, four vaccines and 21 chemical preparations have been preapproved by the World Health Organization, meaning the organization recognizes their safety and effectiveness, he said.