China sees fresh wave of drug price cuts
pharmafile | September 21, 2012 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing | China, Lunt, NDRC, ageing
China has unveiled yet another round of price cuts to prescription medicines.
The price cuts cover more than 200 formulations and 95 varieties, a selected range of cancer, immune and blood system drugs are to be cut by an average of 17%, according to a statement by the country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The chief planning agency for China, one of the roles of the NDRC is to direct, promote and co-ordinate the restructuring of the country’s economic system.
A senior official said that the goal of the price adjustments was to carry out a cost-price survey, to be based on expert reviews and input from interested parties. As cited on the NDRC website, the spokesperson noted that the high cost of drugs has a significant impact on patients.
Lower prices could, however, bring about a practical reduction of this burden, the official said. He also noted that the price cuts should further narrow the spread between drug prices, and promote fair competition in the market.
The price cuts come into force on 8 October and are aimed at restraining the rising cost of healthcare for China’s ageing population. “Policy makers are also expanding national health insurance coverage to include more major diseases, and adding to its list of essential drugs, for which prices are controlled by the government,” Chinese health minister Chen Zhu said in a statement.
According to a Bloomberg report, the latest round of price cuts will be applied mainly to drugs with ‘high daily costs’. While patented and innovative medicines come within the scope of the price cuts, they should not affect lower cost drugs, the report said.
Meanwhile, blood products for which hospitals face a shortage of supply are to see prices raised to encourage production, it added.
“This latest move was in-line with past drug price cuts of about 18 and 19%, so the market would see this as quite reasonable,” said Gideon Lo, an analyst with Nomura Holdings in Hong Kong. China has cut the price of drugs five times since 2009, and more than 20 times since 2000, Lo added.
Susie Lunt
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