China's new round of bulk procurement sees drug prices drop 48%

NANJING -- Medicines selected in the seventh round of the Chinese government's centralized drug-procurement program will be 48 percent cheaper than usual, on average, for public health facilities that purchase them.

A total of 327 products, covering 60 drugs, won the bid, according to the bidding results unveiled Tuesday. Among them are medications for common and chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and digestive disease, as well as serious disorders like lung, liver, kidney and intestinal cancers.

Since its establishment, the National Healthcare Security Administration has organized a total of seven rounds of bulk government purchases, covering 294 drugs. Centralized drug procurement has become an important mode of medicine purchase by public hospitals.

Efforts are being made to ensure that medicines newly selected through the current bulk purchases are available to patients as early as November 2022.