Companies are eager to get their treatments on the list even at steep discounts in order to gain access to China’s pharmaceutical market, the world’s second-biggest. Beijing also managed to slash prices more than 40% on average for 14 drugs whose annual sales exceed 1 billion yuan each. Brukinsa, the first cancer drug from China to ever receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, developed by Beijing-based BeiGene, also made the list. The National Healthcare Security Administration in the past has reached agreements with some drugmakers to withhold the details of price cuts. In a separate national campaign in which China’s public hospitals bulk-buy generic medications, prices have been driven down by as much as 90%.

Source: Mint December 28, 2020 06:56 UTC