Drug prices in China cut by up to 61 percent for reimbursement scheme list
Posted: 2 December 2019 | Victoria Rees (European Pharmaceutical Review) | No comments yet
Top pharmaceutical companies have reduced their drug costs in China by an average of 61 percent, to be added to the reimbursement list in the country.
Pharmaceutical companies including Roche and Novartis have reportedly agreed to reduce the price of some of their newest drugs in China. Their decision is in an effort to be added to the national reimbursement scheme list, Reuters reports.
The average cut to the cost of these medicines is up to 61 percent, says the report, and the addition to the reimbursement list helps volume sales by opening up smaller markets in Chinese cities. However, some critics have warned that the price deductions may be seen negatively in other markets.
According to the report, 70 drugs including pertuzumab and omalizumab will be added to the list. Another drug included is Abbvie’s adalimumab, a top selling medicine globally. The full list was published on the Chinese National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) website on Thursday.
According to the NHSA, the cost of tumour and diabetes drugs are reduced at an average of 65 percent.
In a statement, the NHSA said that almost all of the imported drugs on the list had the “lowest prices globally”.
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AbbVie, Chinese National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA), Novartis, Roche
