The National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) for 2025 has been announced by the Chinese government and includes 114 new entries, 50 of which are first-in-world innovative therapies. These additions show an increased focus from the government on making high-value medicines available to patients.
In addition, unlike previous years, the Chinese government placed less emphasis on price reductions for drugs already included on the updated NRDL. Imported drugs that have limited competition within China, such as Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes and AstraZeneca’s Fasenra for Severe Asthma, were added to the NRDL. On the other hand, drugs with many domestic competitors, such as PD-1 inhibitors, will remain excluded.
In addition, China established its first Commercial Insurance Innovative Drug list. This new list includes 19 innovative drugs that treat specialty diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and rare genetic disorders, with many of these being extremely expensive relative to other drugs that treat the same conditions. In general, the Commercial Insurance Innovative Drug List is primarily made up of oncology therapies, which have five CAR-T therapies along with two new Alzheimer’s therapies from Eli Lilly and Biogen/Eisai. Inclusion does not guarantee coverage, but listed drugs in this catalogue will be recommended for commercial insurers, many of which are backed by local governments. The initiative aims to improve patient access to advanced therapies and support the national “Healthy China” strategy.
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.