Another drug that attracted widespread attention during the latest round of negotiations was the anti-epilepsy drug called Clobazam made by domestic company Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical.
Clobazam treats a severe form of epilepsy that strikes during infancy or early childhood. It affects about 600,000 people across China.
Even though the homegrown drug is not classified as an innovative drug, the pill is urgently needed as there is only one imported alternative on the Chinese market at present, which is not on the list.
Foreign-made Clobazam was unavailable on the Chinese mainland until the National Health Commission allowed temporary imports in June 2022. The domestic version of the drug obtained market authorization later that year and was included in reimbursements in late November.
Du Wentao, chairman of Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical, said during an interview with state broadcaster China Central Television that it has spent five years and over 70 million yuan in researching the drug.
"So far, our drugs have only been introduced to less than 20 percent of relevant hospitals and many parents have to travel far to larger hospitals to obtain the drug," he said. "Getting on the list means that grassroots coverage for the drug will be improved and more child patients can access effective treatment."
Wu Jing, deputy dean of Tianjin University's School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, said, "The speedy action related to boosting access to the drug has demonstrated the government's attention to the rare disease patient community."
Even though the market price of domestic Clobazam per tablet is only 3 yuan, Wu said that the medicine is usually delivered along with other drugs and the total costs constitute a heavy burden on some families.
"The price reduction could range from a few percent to over 90 percent because the principle is not purely chasing after steep cuts, but a pursuit of the most reasonable price," Wu said. "All negotiated prices will be tested against economic barometers that evaluate clinical value."
Huang, the official from the National Healthcare Security Administration, said that during price negotiations in late October, a total of 28 drugs failed to secure a deal. The reason was that their anticipated prices had exceeded the bottom-line price by a giant margin, and some drugmakers were unwilling to reduce their prices to a level lower than the international average.
Authorities were looking for the lowest price compared to the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other developed countries, which have a much higher GDP per capita compared to China. It is reasonable to ask for a lower price than these markets considering China's large population, Huang said.
Zhao Bei, a market analyst at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said that the sector of innovative drugs accounts for 70 percent of the US pharmaceutical market, worth about $700 billion. In Japan, the proportion is about 57 percent. In China, the proportion of innovative drugs takes up 10 percent of a pharmaceutical market worth 2.45 trillion yuan.
She disapproved of the perception that innovative drugs are priced at too low a level in China, and that the size and state of the Chinese market cannot bolster the development of innovative drugmakers.
"In the future, China's innovative drug market will be a market with a bright prospect for strong and fast growth. It is expected to soon become the world's second-largest market and can maintain a relatively fast growth rate in the long term," Zhao said.
During its annual meeting held on Dec 18 which lays out key missions this year, the administration said that more novel and high-quality drugs will be added to the national drug reimbursement list.
It added that it will continue to carry out regular centralized and local drug procurement programs that usually involve generic, less costly drugs.
It added that the foremost task is to safeguard the safety of insurance funds, guarantee a balance between revenue and expenditure with a small surplus, as well as stave off deficits.
The administration has also attached great significance to leveraging the role of private capital in the healthcare insurance sector. Private insurance was mentioned seven times in a readout of the meeting, compared to none at last year's gathering.
To satisfy the diversified insurance demands of the public, the administration said it will support the development of both commercial health insurance and basic medical insurance, each with distinct development models.
With the prerequisite of insurance security, the administration will also explore the simultaneous settlement of private insurance, charitable assistance and basic medical insurance, it said.
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