BEIJING: China has rolled out nine rounds of bulk-buy programs for medicines and four rounds targeting high-value medical consumables, in a bid to ease the financial burden faced by patients, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration.
The nation began central procurement programs where drugmakers cut prices and bid for large-volume contracts with public hospitals in 2018.
So far, these programs have involved 374 types of drugs that have seen an average price cut of over 50 percent, as well as several kinds of medical equipment including heart stents, artificial joints, intraocular lenses and orthopedic supplies.
Yan Qinghui, deputy director of the administration, said during a news conference in September that bulk-buy programs have alleviated the financial burden of patients and boosted access to high-quality medicines.
“Antiviral drugs for hepatitis B, including entecavir and tenofovir, used to incur an annual cost of up to 4,000 yuan ($552) to 5,000 yuan on patients, but their annual expenses have fallen to around 100 yuan to 200 yuan following the bulk buy, “ he said.
Thanks to significant price reductions for insulin, Yan said that the usage share of the more advanced third-generation of the drug has grown from 58 percent to over 70 percent.
Yan added that the program has also promoted the health and high-quality development of the pharmaceutical sector.
“In the past, pharmaceutical enterprises focused more on marketing and competing for sales channels, but less on product quality and research and development,” he said. “The bulk-buy program has provided a transparent platform for fair competition and enabled good products to quickly enter the market.” –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
