China to free prices of most drugs
Print Edition
CHINA said it will lift price controls on most drugs from June 1 and allow the market a larger role in setting prices in the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market, the top economic planner said.
All drugs apart from anesthetics and grade-one psychiatric medications will no longer be subject to government-set ceiling prices and the move is to “improve purchasing mechanism for drugs and control costs for medical insurance,” the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website yesterday.
A total of 166 existing price rules will be abolished once the new regulations come into effect.
The NDRC said the move will ensure market competition but it assured the public that it will boost efforts to monitor prices.
In each province or city, drug makers or third-party sales agencies have to go through a local level tender process to become an official supplier for hospitals, where more than three quarters of drugs are sold in the country.
The NDRC also asked local authorities to conduct a six-month price inspection campaign on all pharmaceutical companies, medical institutions, and disease control centers to ensure that drug pricing is not abused.
“The relaxing of the price controls shows government agencies are respecting market rules,” said Jiang Guangce, a veteran investment manager and founder of DC Healthcare Fund.
China’s pharmaceutical market is estimated to be US$185 billion by 2018, said health care consultancy IMS Health.
The lifting of price controls follows similar moves on low-cost medicines, telecom services, tobacco, ports, railways, air transport, natural gas and electricity last year.
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