On August 8, the 9th round of Volume Based Procurement (VBP) was released, and the gathering of volume usage was closed on September 11. The 9th round of VBP included 44 drugs, according to the Chinese health authorities. The 44 drugs include drugs for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, central nervous system, infectious diseases, etc. Two drugs in this round included AstraZeneca Faslodex (fulvestrant) and Beigene/Celgene’s Revlimid (lenalidomide) – key cancer drugs that were earlier admitted to China’s national reimbursement drug list. The tender for these 44 drugs is anticipated to be in the first quarter of 2024.
In China, VBP is mainly organized at the state level, but some provinces may also use this procurement system locally. The goal of VBP is to significantly lower prices in exchange for a huge purchase amount (60% to 70% of the overall annual purchasing amount of public hospitals) and to reduce the burden of drug costs to patients.
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.mddionline.com/regulations/chinas-vbp-regulation-impacts-medtronic-sales#:~:text=Essentially%2C%20the%20Chinese%20government%20adopted,by%20Komarl%20Urde%20and%20published