China to reduce cancer drugs prices

Beijing. Jul 3. Silkroadnews - China is working to lower the prices of cancer drugs and reduce the financial burden on patients, People’s Daily wrote.
The prices for cancer drugs will be reduced due to centralized purchases, deputy director of the National Health Commission Zeng Yixin said.
According to Chen Jinfu, the head of the medical insurance department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, last year the government entered into agreements with pharmaceutical companies on the prices of 36 cancer drugs from the list of medical insurance.
Prices for these drugs on average dropped by 44%, Chen said.
Stressing the patient-centered approach in negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, the official also noted that market competition is also necessary.
The government will work to include more antineoplastic drugs in the country’s medical insurance catalogue, which already includes most of the relevant drugs.
In addition, the efforts have been made to speed up the procedures for reviewing and approving new drugs, reducing circulation costs and improving diagnostics to reduce the burden on patients and their families, Zeng said.
The average registration time for imported medicines has been significantly reduced, and the customs clearance procedures were streamlined, said Li Jinju, a staff member of the Food and Drug Administration of China.
The Ministry of Finance announced that China will exempt 28 medicines from import tariffs, including all cancer drugs from May 1.