China Medical News

On March 16^th, The Ministry of Health announced an updated version of the China's National Essential Drug List (which is catalog of drugs that is covered by all insurance plans in China). The updated list includes 520 drugs (317 Western drugs and 203 TCMs) which is an increase of around 200 drugs compared to the previous list issued in 2009 which included 307 drugs (205 Western / 102 TCMs). Noticeable increase came from anti-tumor drugs, in which 26 drugs were added to the list. Also, quite a few drugs for gynecological and pediatric treatments were also added to the list. (Source: MENET)