UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    Form 8-K

                                 Current Report
     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 17, 2004



                           DRAGON PHARMACEUTICAL INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


           Florida                        0-27937                 65-0142474
           -------                        -------                 ----------
(State or Other Jurisdiction of    (Commission File Number)     (IRS Employer
           Incorporation)                                    Identification No.)


    1055 Hastings Street, Suite 1900             
      Vancouver, British Columbia                               V6E 2E9
      ----------------------------                              -------
        (Address of Principal Executive Offices)               (Zip Code)


                                 (604) 669-8817
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Check  the  appropriate  box  below  if the  Form  8-K  filing  is  intended  to
simultaneously  satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

[ ]  Written  communications  pursuant to Rule 425 under the  Securities Act (17
     CFR 230.425)

[X]  Soliciting  material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
     240.14a-12)

[ ]  Pre-commencement   communications  pursuant  to  Rule  14d-2(b)  under  the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ]  Pre-commencement   communications  pursuant  to  Rule  13e-4(c)  under  the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))




Item 8.01 Other Events

     The purpose of this current  report on Form 8-K is to disclose  that Dragon
Pharmaceutical  Inc. (the "Company") issued a press release on December 17, 2004
announcing  that the Company and Oriental  Wave  Holding  Limited have agreed to
extend the Share Purchase  Agreement to February 28, 2005 in connection with the
proposed  acquisition  of  Oriental  Wave.  The press  release is attached as an
exhibit to this Form 8-K.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

     (c)  Exhibits

          99.1   Press release dated December 17, 2004.


                                                                   IGNATURES

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


Date:  December 17, 2004            DRAGON PHARMACEUTICAL INC.

                                    /s/ Matthew Kavanagh
                                    --------------------------------------------
                                    Matthew Kavanagh
                                    Director of Finance and Compliance
                                    (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)


                                                                Exhibit 99.1


          Dragon and Oriental Wave Extend the Share Purchase Agreement
                   in Connection with the Proposed Acquisition

Vancouver,  B.C., December 17, 2004 - Dragon  Pharmaceutical Inc. (OTC BB: DRUG;
TSX:  DDD;  BBSE:  DRP)  announces  that the Company and  Oriental  Wave Holding
Limited have agreed to extend the Share Purchase  Agreement to February 28, 2005
in connection with the proposed acquisition of Oriental Wave. Under the original
terms of the Share Purchase  Agreement,  the  acquisition was to be completed by
December  31,  2004,  or  the  agreement  could  be  terminated.  As  previously
announced,  Dragon's  stockholders'  meeting has been  scheduled for January 11,
2005.

"We believe that the acquisition  represents an important  strategic step for us
that will  strengthen  our  competitive  position.  Combining the  businesses of
Dragon and Oriental Wave into one unified  organization will expand our range of
products,  allow us to leverage the  marketing  network  built over the years in
China and  international  markets by both  companies  and improve our ability to
execute our combined business strategy.  These benefits will enable us to better
capitalize  on   attractive   global   market   opportunities   in  the  generic
pharmaceutical  sector as well as the bulk  pharmaceutical  chemical  sector and
position us for increased  revenue and growth.  I urge all our  stockholders  to
vote in favour of the  proposed  acquisitions  together  with other  proposals."
said, Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO.

Each Dragon stockholder as of the record date of November 29, 2004 has been sent
a copy of the  Definitive  Proxy  Statement.  Dragon  Stockholders  are strongly
encouraged  to read the  Definitive  Proxy  Statement  and vote on the  proposed
acquisition among other proposals.  Any Dragon  stockholder who has not received
the  Definitive  Proxy  Statement or has any questions  regarding the Definitive
Proxy  Statement,  the Annual General  Meeting or the voting process can contact
Garry Wong directly at the Vancouver office of the Company.

About Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc.
Dragon  Pharmaceutical  Inc.  is  an  international  bio-pharmaceutical  company
headquartered in Vancouver,  Canada,  with a GMP production facility in Nanjing,
China.  Dragon's EPO products are being marketed in 9 countries:  China,  India,
Egypt,  Brazil, Peru, Ecuador,  Trinidad-Tobago,  Dominican Republic and Kosovo.
Additional regulatory submissions are in progress throughout Central and Eastern
Europe,  Asia,  Latin  America,  the Middle East and Africa,  and the Company is
preparing to enter the European Union market.

Dragon  Pharmaceutical  Inc. announced  entering into a definitive  agreement to
acquire  Oriental Wave Holdings  Ltd. The proposed  acquisition  is subject to a
number of  conditions  including  shareholders'  vote to  approve  the  proposed
acquisition,  which has been  scheduled  on January 11,  2005.  If the  proposed
acquisition is  consummated,  the combined  company will have diverse and proven
product  lines  under 3  divisions:  a  Pharma  division  for  prescription  and
over-the-counter  generic  drugs,  a Chemical  division for bulk  pharmaceutical
chemicals such as Clavulanic  Acid,  7-ACA and sterilized bulk drug  production,
and a  Biotech  division  for EPO and  in-licensed  G-CSF.  Please  refer to the
Company's proxy statement filed with the SEC.


For further information please contact:
Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc.
Garry Wong, CFA, IMBA
Address: Suite 1900 -1055 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6E 2E9
Telephone: +1-(604)-669-8817 or North America Toll Free: 1-877-388-3784
Fax: +1-(604)-669-4243
Email: irdragon@dragonbiotech.com
Website: www.dragonbiotech.com or www.dragonpharma.com

or

Renmark Financial Communications Inc.
John Boidman : jboidman@renmarkfinancial.com
Sylvain Laberge : slaberge@renmarkfinancial.com
Media - Cynthia Lane : clane@renmarkfinancial.com
Telephone: +1-(514) 939-3989
Fax  : +1-(514) 939-3717
Website: www.renmarkfinancial.com

Forward Looking Statement:
Cautionary Statement for Purposes of the "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All statements,  other than historical
facts,   included  in  this  press  release  are   forward-looking   statements.
Forward-looking  statements  are not  guarantees  of  future  performance.  They
involve risk,  uncertainties  and  assumptions  including  risks discussed under
"Risks Associated With Dragon  Pharmaceutical" in the Company's annual report on
Form 10-KSB,  SEC File No.: 0- 27937 and other documents filed with the SEC. The
Company  does  not   undertake   the   obligation   to  publicly   revise  these
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

The foregoing  may be deemed to be soliciting  materials of Dragon in connection
with its  definitive  agreement to acquire  Oriental Wave  announced on June 14,
2004.  This  disclosure is being made in connection with Regulation of Takeovers
and Security Holder  Communications  (Release Nos. 33-7760 and 34-42055) adopted
by the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  ("SEC") and Rule 14a-12 under the
Securities  Exchange  Act of 1934,  as amended.  Dragon  shareholders  and other
investors are urged to read the  definitive  proxy  statement  that Dragon filed
with the SEC and sent to shareholders  in connection with the proposed  business
acquisition  because it contains  important  information about Dragon,  Oriental
Wave and related matters. Dragon and its directors and executive officers may be
deemed to be  participants  in  Dragon's  solicitation  of proxies  from  Dragon
shareholders in connection with the proposed acquisition.  Information regarding
the participants and their security holdings can be found in Dragon's definitive
proxy statement filed with the SEC. The definitive  proxy statement is available
for free, both on the SEC web site (http://www.sec.gov) and from Dragon.