China Medical News

Lately, every day seems to bring new talk about "innovative" payment models for expensive drugs in the U.S. and Europe. Now, China's getting enthused, too.  Pfizer has launched the country’s first pay-for-performance program in oncology with its blockbuster breast cancer drug Ibrance, China Daily reported. Under the new program, called Bo’ai Xin’an, Pfizer promises reimbursement of up to 33.5% of Ibrance costs if an enrolled patient’s disease progresses within four months.

The U.S. pharma set up the project in collaboration with one of China’s largest commercial insurers, People’s Insurance Company of China (PICC) and MediTrust Health, a Shanghai-based firm that offers healthcare financing services. It’s a small, if groundbreaking, program. It will accept no more than 500 patients, and only those who haven't received hormone therapy are eligible. Patients must also join the program within 28 days of starting Ibrance, Biocentury reported. China runs a national healthcare scheme, and private insurance plans have only interested a few.

China is now the second-largest pharmaceutical market overall and will probably grow more important as drug reforms continue. Its medicine spending will reach up to $170 billion by 2023, from 2018’s $137 billion, according to an IQVIA report released Tuesday. But as access to medicines in general and new medicines in particular expands, the Chinese government is starting to feel the pressure from increased spending. Beijing has begun to crack down on drug prices, especially in the essential drug category, trying to make way for innovative drugs as a new, more streamlined review process ushers those new products to market faster.

And that's one reason why multinational pharma companies like Pfizer are turning more focus toward new drugs in the country. For example, in a new bulk purchase scheme China’s piloting, off-patent drugmakers offered steep discounts to win big tenders from major Chinese cities. As a result, foreign pharmas’ original drugs, Pfizer’s Lipitor included, were mostly defeated by local firms’ cheap copycats. (Source: FiercePharma)