China’s National Health Commission (NHC) and National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) have announced a new policy entitled “Several Measures to Support the High-Quality Development of Innovative Drugs.” Published on June 30 and officially effective on July 1, the policy details 16 measures to enhance drug research, approval, and reimbursement.
Some of the key plans involve applying healthcare big data to bring research in line with national priorities, particularly for rare, pediatric, and chronic conditions. The policy also accelerates market access by providing permission for the temporary addition of urgent treatment into the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL). There will also be a new National Drug Cloud Platform, which will enhance real-time communication between patients and clinicians and streamline administrative procedures.
Today, public health insurance is currently covered under categories A and B. One of the other key reforms is the establishment of a “Category C” list for commercial health insurance, presenting businesses with an alternative to the public health insurance route. Businesses can now choose to go with the public insurance, the commercial insurance system, or both, which allows more flexibility.
Given these changes, the Director of the Pharmaceutical Management Department at the NHSA stated that China has now put in place an end-to-end support system in drug application, review, pricing, and negotiation. Since the launch of the NHSA in 2018, 149 new drugs have been eligible for public insurance, with Class 1 drug approvals increasing drastically in 2024 and 2025.
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.