Starting January 1, 2024, the Chinese NRDL will add 124 new drugs including 15 drugs for rare diseases, 17 anti-virals including anti-COVID products, 15 drugs for chronic diseases like diabetes, and 23 cancer products. To be eligible to enter the NRDL, almost all of these drug prices were reduced – on average by 61%. China is now focusing more on new unique drugs and rare disease drugs. 24 novel drugs were added as well as 15 drugs for rare diseases like Gaucher’s disease and Myasthenia gravis. The total NRDL now includes close to 3,100 drugs.
China’s NRDL gives drug manufacturers the chance to get reimbursement which will facilitate more patient usage. However, to get on the NRDL, large price reductions are inevitable. Today, a number of Western drug companies including those that make PD-1/L1 inhibitors or antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have decided not to go for NRDL listing.
Written by: Ames Gross – President and Founder, Pacific Bridge Medical (PBM)
Mr. Gross founded PBM in 1988 and has helped hundreds of medical companies with regulatory and business development issues in Asia. He is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in the Asian medical markets. Mr. Gross has a BA degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Columbia University.
Source used in the article: https://www.simon-kucher.com/en/insights/china-nrdl-2023-readout-seven-year-itch