China Medical News

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)