China Medical News

The fifth round of the centralized drug-procurement program, which took place in Shanghai on June 23, saw 201 companies bidding to provide medicines to public health facilities, including hospitals. Of those companies making bids, 148 were successful on June 23, with 251 products being qualified. Among the bid-winning products are 11 products from 10 foreign-funded enterprises.

China launched the national centralized procurement system in late 2018. As per the centralized mechanism, drug makers that significantly cut prices are eligible for a large-volume procurement led by the government, in an effort to alleviate medical burdens of the public and to boost the drug accessibility.

Ding Yilei, an official at the National Healthcare Insurance Administration, said during an interview with China Central Television that drugs selected during the fifth and latest round of procurement are estimated to be worth about 55 billion yuan ($8.5 billion), the highest in history. Injectable medications commonly used for intensive care and treatment of severe symptoms account for about 70% of the total value, he added.

These medicines selected through the current round of the Chinese government's new centralized drug-procurement program will be 56% cheaper than normal, on average, for those public health facilities that purchase them, according to the National Healthcare Insurance Administration. (Source: Xinhua and China Daily)