China puts 33 drugs on "group buying" list

Chinese authorities have released a list of 33 drugs for centralized procurement in large quantities mainly by public healthcare institutions as part of their steady efforts to reform the drug procurement system and make medicines more affordable to patients.

Among the 33 drugs are those for treating major chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as tumors and rare diseases, according to documents released by a joint centralized procurement office.

Some drugs not covered by the medical insurance scheme are also included.

According to plans, the bid opening will be held on Jan. 17 and medicines that go through the centralized procurement process will be available at lower prices to patients at public hospitals across the country starting in April.

The procurement, to be carried out simultaneously nationwide, comes after a previous centralized procurement, which was put on a trial run in 11 cities in 2018 and extended nationwide in September 2019, had brought down the prices of 25 drugs by an average of more than 50 percent.