China Medical News

The 12th round of China's centralized drug procurement program has selected 65 types of medicines, with patients expected to gain access to the drugs at more affordable prices by the end of the year. The program results were released by the National Healthcare Security Administration on Friday evening. The selected drugs cover a wide range of therapeutic areas, including anti-infectives, oncology, treatments for blood clots, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, rheumatology and immunology, as well as anti-inflammatory and pain relief therapies.

Under the program, drug manufacturers offer price reductions in exchange for large-volume supply contracts with public hospitals. The bidding for the latest round took place in Shanghai on Friday. According to the preliminary list of bidding results, 45,000 medical institutions submitted procurement demands, and a total of 521 products from 327 drugmakers secured winning bids. The administration said that the procurement process prioritized products from drugmakers with strong clinical recognition, reliable quality, and assured supply capabilities, encompassing both domestic and international companies.

The program also emphasized rational industry competition. On average, each drug type drew 15 bidders, while the most competitive variety attracted as many as 49 companies. The administration said selected drugs are prohibited from being downgraded or having their packaging altered during the required procurement period. In addition, overseas generic drug manufacturers are now required to submit proof of compliance with Chinese drug regulatory standards.

To improve access to lower-cost medicines at the grassroots level, the administration has also encouraged small primary care institutions to form consortia for joint procurement volume submissions. Since the centralized procurement program was launched in 2018, China has organized 12 rounds of procurement, covering a total of 555 types of medicines. (Source: China Daily)

China on Thursday unveiled its new national essential drug list comprising 794 medications, which serves as a guide for medical institutions' procurement and prescribing, an update eight years after the release of the current version. According to China's National Health Commission, essential medicines are those that meet the country's basic health care needs, with reliable supplies, equitable access, and comparatively high cost-effectiveness. Medicines on the updated list are preliminarily estimated to account for 71% of the total volume of drugs used by the country's public medical institutions, said Gong Xiangguang, a senior official of the commission.

The new list will take effect from September this year. According to the National Healthcare Security Administration, all newly added drugs on the list have been included in the national reimbursement drug list. The update adds 68 pharmaceuticals and biological products to the previous version released in 2018, in line with growing demands for common illnesses at community and rural health care institutions and other highly prevalent diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Hu Xin, a chief pharmacist at the Beijing Hospital. "The addition of these medicines will provide doctors with more treatment options and better satisfy patients' demands for medicines under different circumstances," Hu said.  The updated list also adds 31 medicines indicated for use in children, including five drugs developed specifically for pediatric use. It now contains 317 drugs with instructions on the usage for children, including 22 pediatric-specific medicines.

China released its first national essential drug list in 1982, and had updated the list three times before the latest version since the country launched a new round of national medical reform in 2009. (Source: Xinhua)

The National Healthcare Security Administration said on Monday that 557 drugs have passed the preliminary review for inclusion in the national basic medical insurance drug list, while another 54 have been provisionally approved for the commercial health insurance drug catalog.

The administration received 818 applications this year covering 674 generic drug names, an increase of 100 applications and 41 generic drug names from the previous year. The overall pass rate for the preliminary review reached 92% this year, up 8 percentage points year-on-year, according to the administration. "The majority of the declared varieties are newly developed drugs. A total of 343 drugs approved within the past five years are new medications," it said. "This reflects the robust development of China's pharmaceutical industry, with the number of new drug approvals continuing to rise and pharmaceutical enterprises actively engaging in the catalog adjustment process," it added. The administration said the higher pass rate indicates that drugmakers have gained a better understanding of the catalog adjustment rules and are submitting applications in a more rational manner.

China updates its basic medical insurance drug list annually to expand coverage of essential medicines, including treatments for cancer, chronic diseases, rare diseases and pediatric conditions. In 2025, the country introduced the inaugural commercial health insurance drug catalog, aimed at covering innovative, high-cost therapies. Passing the preliminary review is only one of the initial steps toward inclusion in the insurance list. The process is followed by expert evaluations and drug price negotiations, with the final list of newly added drugs typically released toward the end of the year.

Huang Xinyu, head of the administration's department of medical services management, had said in a previous interview that one change to this year's adjustment rules allowed drugs included in last year's commercial health insurance catalog to apply for inclusion in the basic medical insurance drug list. He said innovative drugs with significant clinical value are encouraged to apply for inclusion in the commercial catalog during the early stage of their market launch. Wider clinical use will facilitate the accumulation of real-world clinical outcome data, while scaled-up production is likely to reduce manufacturing costs, paving the way for their eventual inclusion in the basic medical insurance drug list. (Source: China Daily)

The number of assisted reproductive institutions across China has reached 645, with clinical success rates now on par with advanced international levels, an official from the National Health Commission said on Friday.

Fu Wei, director of the commission's department of maternal and child health, said that as part of efforts to ensure safe, convenient, and pleasant fertility services, the country has guided medical institutions to establish specialized clinics for women in early pregnancy — defined as within 14 weeks of gestation. To date, 12,226 such clinics have been set up nationwide, covering all county-level and district-level regions essentially, she said during a news conference.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–25), China's prenatal screening rate and pre-pregnancy health examination rate remained over 90%, while the neonatal disease screening rate exceeded 99%. Moreover, the country has established 3,571 critical maternity care centers and 3,221 critical neonatal care centers, Fu added.

Efforts are also underway to promote the development of childbirth-friendly hospitals, with a focus on increasing the number of single and double rooms in maternity wards, scaling up the use of medication-assisted pain relief during labor, and delivering personalized, patient-centered care services, Fu said. (Source: China Daily)

China has targeted illegal practices in cosmetic surgery, pregnancy and childbirth services, online health education and pharmaceutical procurement in this year's annual campaign to improve governance in the healthcare sector, authorities said recently.　The tasks were outlined in a circular issued by the National Health Commission and 13 other government departments on Monday, marking the launch of a yearly campaign to crack down on irregularities in the medical sector.

The document said enforcement efforts will target unqualified cosmetic service providers, crash courses that train participants to perform aesthetic procedures after only brief instruction, and false advertising in the medical aesthetics sector.　It also aims to crack down on illegal surrogacy, fetal sex identification and the issuance of fraudulent birth certificates, as well as malpractice in online health education, including illegal advertising and improper patient referrals.

In the pharmaceutical sector, regulators pledged to investigate violations including failure to clearly mark prices, price fraud and collusion to manipulate drug prices.　Supervision of the procurement of high-value medical consumables and equipment will also be strengthened. Key areas of focus include illegal interference by decision-makers in procurement processes, contract splitting to circumvent open bidding requirements, and tailoring tender specifications to favor specific bidders.

The circular also stressed the need to strengthen end-to-end oversight of medical data, improve data review and traceability mechanisms, and standardize data security management.　"The disclosure, resale and unauthorized use of medical data is strictly prohibited, and profiteering from data will be resolutely curbed to ensure patient privacy and the security of personal information," it said.

The circular also called for stricter enforcement of professional ethics and anti-corruption rules for medical workers, as well as a tougher crackdown on illegal marketing practices disguised as academic or research activities.　Meanwhile, authorities pledged to crack down on violent attacks against medical workers and online harassment targeting healthcare institutions.

This year's campaign directly responds to several media reports over the past year that exposed misconduct in the healthcare industry and prompted regulatory action.　In July last year, media reports exposed crash courses that enrolled students with no medical background and provided only a few days of training in injectable treatments and other medical procedures. The reports prompted the commission to strengthen oversight and enhance cross-departmental coordination in handling violations.　In late May, local authorities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said they discovered drugs and medical equipment used for fertility treatment at a residential complex. Health and public security authorities have since launched an investigation into the case. (Source: China Daily)

China has made substantial progress in improving child health during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), with key mortality indicators now among the best in upper-middle-income countries, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

In 2025, the country's infant mortality rate dropped to 3.8 per 1,000 live births, and the under-5 mortality rate fell to 5.4 per 1,000 live births, according to Fu Wei, director of the commission's Department of Maternal and Child Health. By the end of 2025, a total of 4,848 secondary and tertiary public general hospitals and 40,000 primary-level medical institutions were able to provide pediatric services, significantly improving access to care for children, she said. Severe birth defects such as neural tube defects and Down syndrome have been effectively controlled, while mother-to-child transmission of diseases has dropped markedly. Vaccination rates for routine immunizations among eligible children have remained above 90%, Fu said.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), Fu said authorities will implement a comprehensive strategy focusing on three key areas: ensuring safe birth, strengthening early childhood development and promoting physical and mental health among children and adolescents. "We will continue to strengthen the emergency rescue network for pregnant women with severe conditions and for newborns, improve the efficiency of referral and treatment, and make every effort to ensure that every child comes into this world healthy and safe."

Meanwhile, primary health institutions will provide free regular physical checkups, developmental assessments, vaccinations and health guidance for every child aged 0 to 6, laying a solid foundation for their healthy growth, she said. A new action plan involving 12 government departments will target five major health issues — obesity, myopia, mental health problems, scoliosis and dental caries — through integrated prevention and management, Fu said. Health authorities will work with families, schools and communities to encourage healthy lifestyles, expand screening and follow-up services and integrate health education into students' daily routines, she added. (Source: ChinaDaily)

China has granted a six-year protection period for clinical trial data on innovative drugs, the National Medical Products Administration said on Friday. The six‑year protection applies to innovative drugs and originator drugs, calculated from the date of drug registration. Improved new drugs receive four years of data protection, and first generic drugs receive three years, according to a guideline issued by the administration. Ordinary generic drugs and biosimilars are not granted data protection.

During the protection period, the administration will neither accept nor approve any marketing application filed by other applicants that relies on the protected data without the holder's consent. Clinical trial data – typically requiring huge investment and more than a decade of research – have not been covered under the patent regime. The new rules are designed to prevent "free‑riding" applications and reward genuine innovation.

The administration said the newly implemented trial data protection system, working in tandem with the patent protection system, will provide "dual protection" for new drug research and development in China, enabling enterprises that have invested heavily in original data on safety, efficacy and quality control to receive returns and fostering a virtuous cycle in the country's innovative drug ecosystem.

For innovative drug companies such as Innovent, the most significant benefit of the new policy is that data has become a measurable, priceable and legally protected core strategic asset, the company said. Innovative drug companies now have stronger institutional guarantees for returns on R&D investment, allowing genuine innovation and real research efforts to be tangibly rewarded, the company said.

The company said the data protection measures will encourage greater investment in research and development. “We look forward to seeing China's innovative drugs go further and more steadily under the system, truly enabling the transition from a major pharmaceutical manufacturer to a strong pharmaceutical innovator,” the company added. (Source: China Daily)

The National Health Commission warned on Thursday against livestreams disguised as legitimate health lectures that aim to sell health products to the elderly.

Hu Qiangqiang, spokesman of the commission, said during a news conference that these livestreams often feature actors posing as medical experts, exaggerate or distort the effectiveness of health supplements, and sell them at inflated prices. Some streams use tactics such as offering gifts, free lectures, or attendance rewards to attract older viewers, and then exploit their health anxieties and emotional needs to manipulate them and infringe upon their rights and interests.

He urged the public to remain vigilant against people posing as medical experts, small giveaways, and tactics involving repeated messaging, emotional bonding, or exaggerated health anxieties. "Family members should also pay close attention to whether their elderly relatives have been invited to join private groups, attend online lectures, or make unusual purchases," Hu said. "If anything seems off, they should verify the situation and discourage such behavior in time."

Hu stressed that ordinary food and health supplements cannot replace medication or medical treatment, and that any claim suggesting a product can cure multiple diseases or reverse chronic conditions in place of proper medical care is unreliable. (Source: China Daily)

The world's first prescription for a groundbreaking monoclonal antibody treatment for the hepatitis D virus has been issued recently at a Beijing hospital, marking a milestone in global viral hepatitis care, Science and Technology Daily reported.

Developed by a team from Tsinghua University and the Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company Huahui Health, the drug Libevitug is the first monoclonal antibody ever approved for viral hepatitis worldwide, filling a long-standing treatment gap for one of the most severe forms of the disease. Of the over 254 million chronic hepatitis B carriers worldwide, approximately 5 percent are co-infected with the hepatitis D virus, and patients with co-infection have long lacked effective targeted therapies. China's National Medical Products Administration granted conditional approval in January 2026 following priority review.

Libevitug is a monoclonal antibody that works by blocking hepatitis B and D viruses from entering liver cells. Clinical trials for this drug began in 2018, with an international multi-center study launched in 2023 among patients with chronic co-infection. Clinical results demonstrated significant efficacy in virological response and normalization of liver function, with particularly notable benefits for patients with cirrhosis.　（Source: Xinhua）

Japan's Daiichi Sankyo and the United Kingdom's AstraZeneca announced on Friday that their co-developed innovative medicine, Enhertu, has been approved for use in China as a neoadjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer. This marks China as the first country globally to have this indication approved. Such development underscores the multinational pharmaceutical companies' focus on the China market and highlights the acceleration of China's drug approval reforms.

This approval, which signifies the entry of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) into the treatment of early-stage breast cancer, serves as the latest example that China is increasingly becoming a crucial launch market for global pharmaceutical innovations, said industry experts.

Wu Jiong, Party secretary of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and the lead researcher for relevant clinical studies related to this drug in China, emphasized the importance of effective preoperative neoadjuvant treatment in reducing the risk of disease recurrence, maximizing the chances of cure, and helping to reduce the intensity of surgery. "The approval of this innovative injection offers a new treatment option and hope for clinical cure to more early-stage breast cancer patients in the country," he said. (Source: China Daily)

China rolled out a commercial insurance innovative drug list on Jan 1 that expanded the healthcare coverage policy in the hopes of reducing financial burdens on patients requiring advanced treatments, particularly for cancer and rare diseases. The launch introduced 114 new drugs to the list and singled out 19 high-cost innovative drugs for recommended coverage by commercial insurers.

Huang Xinyu, head of the National Healthcare Security Administration's medical services management department, said that new drugs must meet at least one of the following criteria to be included in the list: "filling an unmet clinical need, being superior to existing options, or offering better cost-effectiveness".

Fa Cuiwen, a medical sociologist at Tsinghua University, said the new list aims to build a stronger, multi-tiered safety net. Basic insurance would handle essential care, while commercial plans would step in where coverage falls short. China's public system, she explained, often cannot pay for expensive new medicines. Commercial health insurance can help close that hole and respond to patients who need a wider range of treatment options.

The commercial insurance directory, a key component of this update, includes advanced drugs such as new Alzheimer's medications and treatments for rare diseases like Gaucher. High-priced modern drugs, like a CAR T-cell therapy for cancer, which previously cost anywhere from $600,000 to over $1 million, will be included in the commercial directory. This means that patients with qualifying commercial insurance could receive substantial compensation. (Source: China Daily)

Chinese health authorities have completed another round of bulk purchases of medical supplies, a move aimed at lowering costs for hospitals and patients across the country. The National Healthcare Security Administration on Wednesday announced the results of its sixth national bulk procurement program for high-value medical consumables. The latest round covered 12 types of devices, including drug-coated balloons and urological intervention products. A total of 440 products from 202 manufacturers were selected for procurement. Health officials said the bulk-buying scheme successfully included major suppliers that hospitals rely on, ensuring a diverse and stable supply of the selected medical devices.

To date, the government's bulk procurement program has expanded to cover 142 types of medical consumables across nine major categories, spanning clinical fields such as cardiology, orthopedics, peripheral vascular surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology and urology. Patients are expected to begin accessing the latest batch of lower-priced devices around May 2026, according to the administration. China has regularly used centralized procurement to negotiate lower prices for medical equipment and drugs, part of broader efforts to make healthcare more affordable. (Source: Xinhua)

China will accelerate reforms to allow family members to use funds from the personal accounts of basic employee healthcare insurance across provincial regions, authorities said on Friday. The move, announced by the National Healthcare Security Administration and the Ministry of Finance, aims to further reduce people's medical expenses and improve the efficiency of healthcare fund management.

Under the new policy, holders of employee insurance may use the balance in their personal accounts to pay for medical expenses of their parents, spouses, children, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren, even if they reside in different provinces. These funds can cover costs for treatments at designated medical institutions and purchases at retail pharmacies, as well as personal contributions toward basic medical insurance or long-term care insurance plans.

The administration said that regional authorities have already piloted the fund-sharing mechanism in recent years. Over the past five years, a total of 780 million such transactions involving over 100 billion yuan ($14.3 billion) have been processed, it said. (Source: China Daily)

China's health literacy level climbed to 33.69% in 2025 — an increase of 1.82 percentage points from the previous year — maintaining a steady upward trend in recent years, according to the National Health Commission. The rate stood at 36.68% among urban residents, compared with 30.58% for those in rural areas. Meanwhile, the gap in health literacy between eastern, central, and western regions of the nation has narrowed. The findings are based on survey data collected from about 70,500 questionnaires completed by residents aged 15 to 69 across the country. (Source: China Daily)

China released its fourth catalog of brand-name drugs on Sunday, aiming to foster the development of generic alternatives to address unmet clinical needs, according to the National Health Commission. The list, jointly issued by the commission and three other government bodies, includes 21 branded medicines in fields such as oncology, neurology, assisted reproduction and diagnostic imaging.

The selected drugs prioritize those with novel targets and mechanisms, such as difelikefalin, a medication used to relieve moderate to severe itching in hemodialysis patients with chronic kidney disease, and four radiopharmaceutical therapies that are not yet available domestically. The list also highlights internationally recommended first-line treatments, such as the insomnia medication suvorexant, which aids sleep onset and maintenance while minimizing daytime drowsiness and fatigue.

In support of the national strategy to encourage births, the catalog includes advanced reproductive health products, including gel and suppository formulations designed to reduce redness, swelling, pain and other adverse reactions commonly associated with long-term injectable therapies during in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer cycles.

Furthermore, emphasis is placed on medicines with established clinical use in China. For example, deflazacort, a treatment for the rare genetic disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is included.

Since 2019, China has released four such catalogs, each aimed at accelerating the development of high-quality, affordable generic alternatives to original brand-name drugs. (Source: China Daily)

The survival prospects for child and adolescent cancer patients in China have improved significantly, with their five-year survival rate reaching 77.2% overall, and rates for certain cancer types exceeding international standards, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet recently.

The study, led by researchers from Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, also identified regional survival disparities and recommended measures, including establishing regional pediatric cancer centers, standardized referral systems, and AI-assisted diagnostics to help bridge these gaps.

Ni Xin, president of the hospital and the study's lead author, noted that this is the first systematic analysis of cancer survival trends among Chinese patients aged 19 and younger. The research covered nearly 95,200 cases diagnosed between 2018 and 2020.

Findings indicate that the five-year survival rate was 77.8% for children under 14, and 75.3% for adolescents aged 15 to 19. Girls had a higher survival rate of 79% compared to boys at 75.8%. Notably, China's five-year survival rates for the six childhood cancers prioritized under the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer 2030 have all surpassed 80%, with the highest reaching 93.8%. This is well above the WHO's 60% target. These six cancers — acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumor, and low-grade glioma — account for 50 to 60% of all childhood cancers and are considered highly treatable with proven therapies.

According to the researchers, China has made substantial progress in survival rates for common childhood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, with outcomes for neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma now approaching those in high-income countries. They attributed these gains to sustained reforms in healthcare security, improved cross-provincial medical reimbursement, policies supporting patients with serious illnesses, standardized treatment protocols, and the development of a collaborative treatment network.

However, the study also highlighted persistent survival gaps linked to regional socioeconomic development. The overall cancer survival rate ranged from 72.6% in regions of low development to 84.9% in highly developed regions. The disparity is even more pronounced among adolescents than among younger children. Also, about 23.5% of patients sought initial treatment outside their home region, and these patients faced significantly lower mortality risks compared to those treated locally. The survival difference between patients who traveled across provinces and those who did not reached up to 18.2%, according to the study.

"These findings highlight China's contribution to global efforts to meet the WHO Global Initiative," the study said. "Despite this achievement, substantial regional disparities in survival remain, driven by structural and multifaceted factors including uneven healthcare resource distribution, financial hardship, and deficiencies in insurance and social support systems."

To address these inequalities, the study proposed targeted measures such as establishing regional pediatric cancer centers, standardizing referral pathways, and deploying artificial intelligence to enhance diagnostics in resource-limited settings. "These efforts are especially important for cancers with considerable unmet needs, including leukemias, hepatic tumors, malignant bone tumors, and soft tissue sarcomas, particularly among adolescents," it said. "Health systems should also ensure continuity of care during the transition from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to adulthood," it added. (Source: China Daily)

Nineteen novel drugs have been selected for inclusion in the first iteration of China's Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Catalogue, portending potential access benefits as the program gains momentum. The list, which was unveiled by China's National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) at a Dec. 7 press conference in Guangzhou, was whittled down from 24 drugs that entered final pricing negotiations and 121 that initially passed a formal review, according to local reports.

The catalog is set to take effect from Jan. 1, 2026, and prioritizes innovative drugs with “high levels of innovation, significant clinical value, substantial patient benefits, and coverage exceeding the scope of basic medical insurance,” the NHSA explained in a disclosure. Among the drugs that made the list are several CAR-T therapies, plus targeted cancer treatments including BeiGene’s HER2 bispecific Ziihera, Pfizer’s multiple myeloma med Empliciti, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Yervoy and Johnson & Johnson’s Talvey. Alzheimer’s disease treatments from Eli Lilly and partners Eisai and Biogen made the grade, as well.

Unlike the well-established National Reimbursement Drug List, which ensures coverage under the state-run national medical insurance scheme, drugs that made the inaugural commercial insurance roster won’t enjoy any guaranteed coverage. Instead, drugs on the new formulary are recommended for commercial health coverage.

The formulary is expected to be gradually incorporated into commercial insurance programs backed by local governments. These programs, already available to residents at a relatively low out-of-pocket premium in some large Chinese cities, are considered supplemental to the national insurance scheme, with some already offering different levels of coverage for some pricey medicines, such as CAR-Ts. (Source: Fierce Pharma)

China's National Healthcare Security Administration has added 114 new medicines to its national reimbursement drug list for 2025, significantly expanding coverage for critical treatments. The updated list will take effect on Jan 1, extending additional health security to millions nationwide.

The update addresses major gaps in basic insurance, sharply reducing costs for drugs used to treat triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer and other serious conditions. Patients with rare diseases — such as Langerhans cell histiocytosis and chelator-intolerant thalassemia — and those with chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and autoimmune disorders will also benefit from the new additions.

According to the administration, 88% of candidate drugs were successfully added this year, up from 76% the previous year. In a push to encourage medical innovation, 50 of the newly covered medicines are classified as Category 1 innovative drugs — representing novel, global-first therapies.

The administration has also introduced a commercial health insurance innovative drug directory, which includes 19 high-value treatments not currently covered by the basic insurance fund. This list features CAR-T therapies for cancer, drugs for rare diseases such as neuroblastoma and Gaucher disease, and medications for Alzheimer's disease. The move is designed to allow patients with commercial insurance earlier access to advanced treatments.

Following the annual expansion, China's reimbursement list now covers a total of 3,253 drugs — 1,857 Western chemical drugs and 1,396 proprietary Chinese medicines. Protection levels have risen noticeably in key areas including oncology, chronic diseases, mental health, rare disorders and pediatric care. (Source: China Daily)

The growth rate of young-onset dementia (YOD) is now significantly outpacing that of late-onset dementia (LOD) in China, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease.

The research, which analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease study from 1990 to 2021, provides a systematic comparison of the burden characteristics between YOD, defined as onset before age 65, and LOD, which occurs at or after 65. It shows that although the total number of LOD cases remains higher, the growth rate of YOD has surpassed that of the former since 2012. Key indicators, including incidence and prevalence, rose more sharply in the younger cohort from 2012 to 2021.

The study also pinpointed that the main drivers of the increasing YOD burden shifted from population growth to epidemiological changes and population aging. In contrast, population growth remained the dominant driver for LOD. The research identified three major modifiable risk factors for both YOD and LOD, namely tobacco use, high fasting plasma glucose, and high body mass index (BMI). Crucially, their impact differs significantly by sex. For men, tobacco use is the dominant threat, reflecting China's high male smoking rates. For women, however, high fasting plasma glucose and high BMI pose a greater relative risk, with research indicating women with diabetes experience more pronounced structural brain damage.

This is a critical public health alert, and dementia prevention must start at age 40 or earlier, according to Han Ying, a leading cognitive disorders specialist at Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing. Many people at the peak of their careers and family responsibilities are unknowingly at risk, and symptoms in younger adults are frequently missed. Han urged individuals to intervene earlier by prioritizing brain health from midlife, tailoring strategies by sex, and adopting a healthy lifestyle. (Source: China Daily)

China's 11th nationwide centralized drug procurement round has selected 55 medicines, including antivirals and diabetes treatments, which are expected to become available at lower prices starting in February, the National Healthcare Security Administration said on Tuesday.

Preliminary results from the bidding process held in Shanghai from Monday to Tuesday show that the chosen drugs cover a wide range of therapeutic areas, such as infection, allergy, cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, inflammation and pain relief. Among the successful bids is oseltamivir, commonly used to treat influenza, a first-line diabetes medication called metformin, and the anticancer medication olaparib. During this round of bulk-buy where drugmakers cut prices to win bids for large-volume supply contracts with public hospitals, 794 products from 445 enterprises were available to be bid on. Ultimately, 453 products from 272 companies were selected.

Around 46,000 medical institutions had submitted their procurement demands in advance, some specifying preferred brands. The administration said that 75% of these requested volumes were successfully matched with winning products. "The selected brands closely match clinical needs, and the majority of chosen manufacturers are established firms with proven supply capacity and reliable quality," it said. "Each region will be supplied by multiple winning manufacturers, ensuring a diverse and stable product selection."

Beyond addressing clinical demand, this round of procurement emphasized quality assurance and discouraged abnormally low bids. To reinforce quality control, bidding manufacturers were required to demonstrate prior experience in producing the same category of drugs. Additionally, the production line for the bid drug must have had no manufacturing practice violations within the past two years. "Regulatory authorities will conduct comprehensive supervision and inspections of all selected products in the future," it added.

The competition in this round was notably more intense compared to the previous 10 rounds. To mitigate excessive competition and avoid extremely low bids, the administration introduced safeguards, including an anchor price reference, a revival mechanism and proactive communication with companies to encourage reasonable pricing. As a result, the round maintained a relatively high selection rate, while the average price gap among winning drugs was substantially smaller than in earlier batches. The administration also emphasized efforts to prevent bid-rigging and collusion, as well as promoting a fair and competitive market environment.

Since the centralized procurement program was launched in 2018, a total of 490 drug varieties has now been included through 11 rounds. (Source: China Daily)

The annual negotiations between China’s government and pharmaceutical firms to determine which drugs are covered by the national medical insurance scheme opened a new chapter today (October 30, 2025) by adding a new catalog for innovative drugs alongside the standard catalog. According to Yicai, learning from drugmakers taking part in the bargaining, talks for the innovative drugs catalog will take place after those for the basic catalog. The items included in the catalogs will receive differentiated policy support in terms of payment guarantees and clinical use, they said.

Several novel drugs are on this year’s negotiation agenda, including sacituzumab tirumotecan, a next-generation TROP2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate developed by Chengdu-based Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical, as well as new therapies from foreign players such as Novartis and Novo Nordisk. Expensive chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatments also a high-stakes area in this year’s negotiations. Among the seven CAR-T products approved in China so far, five have applied to be included in the innovative drugs catalog, three of which have also requested to be in the basic catalog.

The national medical insurance catalog is mainly compiled by the National Healthcare Security Administration and includes essential medications for common diseases, chronic conditions, along with some novel drugs, providing basic medical coverage for insured individuals. Negotiations for the innovative drug catalog are also organized by the NHSA, with commercial insurers participating in the pricing process. The drugs included in this catalog will be high-value novel medicines and rare disease treatments that are currently outside the basic catalog

Per past negotiations, the first day mainly focuses on drugs with relatively transparent pricing, such as antiviral, anti-infection, chronic disease, and anesthetic analgesic medications. But it may also include some rare disease drugs. Negotiations for medicines that are more challenging, including cancer therapies, are typically scheduled for later. Pricing lies at the heart of the talks. The National Healthcare Security Fund and pharmaceutical companies need to reach agreement on the eligibility and payment standards for drugs.

Meanwhile, the national centralized drug procurement negotiations launched earlier this month could further lower the buying costs for drugs already in the medical insurance catalog, making it cheaper for patients. Even drugs not yet listed may leverage the bulk-buying program to enlarge their market share. (Source: Yicai Global)

Nuclear medicine, formally known as radiopharmaceuticals, is used for disease diagnosis, treatment, or medical research, and is revolutionizing the way diseases are diagnosed and treated, The global nuclear medicine market is projected to grow from $12.6 billion in 2023 to $21 billion by the end of 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.29%. Domestic innovation in nuclear medicine started later than overseas, primarily due to challenges in the development of medical imaging equipment such as SPECT/PET, insufficient local adoption rates, and a shortage of domestic isotope supply.

To address these challenges, policy measures have taken the lead. The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Medical Equipment Industry and the Medium- and Long-Term Development Plan for Medical Isotopes (2021–2035) have been successively introduced. All parties in the upstream industrial chain have also taken active steps. United Imaging Healthcare has overcome key technological hurdles and promoted the popularization of PET equipment. By 2023, the number of PET devices in China reached 722, an 80.8% increase compared with 2019.

Currently, 205 innovative nuclear drug pipelines are in the clinical stage in China, with multiple listed companies investing in innovative nuclear medicine. Grand Pharma, for example, has established a global R&D and production base. In the first half of 2025, its nuclear medicine segment revenue reached HKD 420 million, a year-on-year increase of 106%. Baheal Pharma Group's Tc-99m RGD peptide injection has completed Phase III clinical trials. Other companies, such as Fosun Pharma and Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings, have also entered the field. (Source: China Economic Net.)

China has approved the world's first domestically developed drug designed to achieve a functional cure for hepatitis B, marking a significant step in the global fight against the chronic liver infection. The injectable drug, named Pegbing, was developed by Amoytop Biotech based in Xiamen, Fujian province. It has been approved for use in combination with antiviral medication to achieve sustained clearance of the hepatitis B surface antigen in adults with chronic hepatitis B, according to a notice released by the National Medical Products Administration. The Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control said the approval represents the world's first market authorization for a drug aimed at achieving functional cure for hepatitis B, ushering in a new stage in the global battle against the infectious disease.

Globally, hepatitis B affects about 254 million people and causes over 1 million related deaths annually. China has about 75 million chronic hepatitis B patients. A functional cure for hepatitis B is defined as the sustained loss of the hepatitis B surface antigen after treatment cessation, in contrast to conventional therapies that suppress viral replication but do not eliminate the virus entirely. (Source: China Daily)

China's top health official on Thursday said the country's average life expectancy has risen to 79 years. The figure, measured by the end of 2024, was 1.1 years higher than that in 2020, said Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, adding that it marked "a notable improvement" for a developing country. Eight provincial-level regions have even recorded an average life expectancy over 80 years, he added. Lei, speaking at a press conference on the country's progress in the health sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), stated that infant and maternal mortality rates have continued to decline over the past five years, and the overall health level of residents has steadily improved. (Source: Xinhua)

China has introduced a national childcare subsidy system starting this year, as part of efforts to improve the childbirth support system and promote high-quality population development, the country's top health official said on Thursday. From Jan. 1 this year, families will receive an annual childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan (about 507 US dollars) per child -- whether for a first, second, or third child -- until the child turns three, according to a plan issued earlier by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. As of Wednesday, over 80% of eligible applicants had completed registration through online and offline channels, Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission (NHC), told a press conference on the country's progress in the health sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

Economic support in childcare has been expanded in multiple areas over the five-year period. Childcare for children under three and children's education have been included in additional deductions for individual income tax, with the deduction standard raised from 1,000 yuan per child per month to 2,000 yuan, said Guo Yanhong, deputy head of the NHC. All Chinese provinces now include assisted reproductive technology projects in medical insurance reimbursement, along with other policies such as free preschool education and housing support, Guo added. Nationwide, rates of regular checkups for pregnant women, new mothers and newborns have remained above 90%, Guo said, noting that comprehensive maternal and child services have been further strengthened, including a pregnancy risk screening mechanism and special management for high-risk maternal cases. Chinese parents are also afforded more time to care for their infants and young children. According to Guo, all Chinese provinces have also extended maternity leave and parental childcare leave. (Source: Xinhua)

China plans to include the human papillomavirus vaccine in its national immunization program, Shen Hongbing, head of the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention and deputy director of the National Health Commission, said on Thursday. Shen said the country would roll out HPV vaccination services this year for all eligible girls, aimed at protecting women's health. So far, at least 17 provincial-level regions have announced that they will provide free HPV vaccines to eligible girls, typically those between the ages of 9 and 14. These programs use domestically developed vaccines that protect against the two most common HPV strains.

Calls to incorporate HPV vaccines into the national immunization program have grown stronger in recent years due to the increasing availability of affordable domestic vaccines, as well as the rising burden of cervical cancer — the fifth most common cancer among women in China. Human papillomavirus infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer. The nation's free immunization program now covers 14 vaccines that can protect against 15 diseases. The program has not been expanded since 2007. (Source: China Daily)

China now ranks second globally in new drug development, accounting for 20% of the world's new pharmaceuticals in the pipeline, a health official said on Thursday. Guo Yanhong, an official of the National Health Commission, said at a press conference that several domestically developed innovative drugs for cancer treatment have received market approval both in China and abroad.

Locally produced human papillomavirus vaccines have also been widely adopted, significantly improving vaccine accessibility. Meanwhile, a range of domestic medical devices — from advanced CT scanners and surgical robots to artificial hearts and proton and heavy ion radiotherapy systems — have been successfully developed and put into clinical use. "The overall capacity of health science and technology has continued to strengthen, resulting in a series of groundbreaking advances and landmark achievements," she added. (Source: China Daily)