Five Multinational Pharma Companies Secure Wins in China's Fourth National Drug Volume-Based Procurement

　　【Pharmaceutical Network - Industry Trends] Recently, the Shanghai Sunshine Pharmaceutical Procurement Network officially released the proposed winning results for the fourth batch of the National Centralized Drug Procurement. All 45 drugs included in this batch were successfully procured, with an average price reduction of 52% for the proposed winning drugs. Notably, Qilu Pharmaceutical’s Parecoxib Sodium for Injection (40mg/vial) saw a price cut as high as 96%. A total of 152 companies participated in the bidding process, resulting in 118 proposed winning pharmaceutical enterprises. Among them, 21 foreign-funded companies submitted bids, and five foreign companies had their products selected as winners. These include Sanofi’s Amisulpride Tablets, Fresenius Kabi’s Propofol Medium/Long-Chain Fat Emulsion Injection, Eisai’s Loxoprofen Sodium Tablets, Aurobindo Pharma Limited’s Pantoprazole Enteric-Coated Tablets, and HEXAL AG (Sandoz Private Limited)’s Voriconazole Tablets. The first two products are original brand-name drugs.
 

　Sanofi
 

Sanofi's amisulpride tablets (0.2g*20 tablets) saw a significant price reduction in this centralized procurement, with the price per tablet dropping from 12 yuan to 1.6 yuan, allowing patients to save approximately 912 yuan per month. Public information indicates that amisulpride tablets are used to treat mental disorders such as acute or chronic schizophrenia, and Sanofi is the original research and development company for this product.
 

　Fresenius Kabi
 

According to the proposed winning bid results published on the Shanghai Pharmaceutical Sunshine Procurement Network, Fresenius Kabi’s Propofol Medium- and Long-Chain Fat Emulsion Injection (0.2g*5) won the bid at a low price of 49.3 yuan, representing a price reduction of over 80%. This price is even lower than those offered by domestic pharmaceutical companies Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, Jiangsu Yingke, and Sichuan Kelun, whose winning bid prices were 50 yuan, 67 yuan, and 74.29 yuan, respectively.
 

Data show that propofol medium- and long-chain triglyceride emulsion for injection is one of the commonly used anesthetics in clinical practice, with Fresenius Kabi as the original developer of this product. Data indicate that sales of this product in China reached nearly RMB 2 billion in 2019.
 

　Eisai
 

Eisai’s loxoprofen sodium tablets (60 mg × 20 tablets) are proposed for selection at a price of RMB 5.52. This product is primarily indicated for anti-inflammatory and analgesic treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, low back pain, periarthritis of the shoulder, cervico-shoulder-brachial syndrome, and toothache; for analgesia and anti-inflammatory effects after surgery, trauma, and tooth extraction; and for antipyresis and analgesia in acute upper respiratory tract infections.
 

The original developer of loxoprofen sodium was Sankyo Co., Ltd. of Japan. Currently, the marketed dosage forms of loxoprofen sodium both domestically and internationally include injections, conventional tablets, sustained-release capsules, transdermal patches, gels, and cataplasms. In 2019, sales of loxoprofen sodium in sample hospitals amounted to RMB 152 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 43.70%.
 

　　Aurobindo Pharma Limited
 

Aurobindo Pharma Limited’s pantoprazole enteric-coated tablets (40 mg × 30 tablets) are proposed for selection at a median price of RMB 19.86. This product is a commonly used medication for treating conditions such as peptic ulcers, with domestic sales reaching RMB 5.78 billion in 2019. The main formulations of pantoprazole marketed in China include injections, enteric-coated tablets, and enteric-coated capsules, among which injections are more widely used in clinical practice.
 

　　HEXAL AG(Sandoz Private Limited)
 

Hexal AG (Sandoz Private Limited)'s voriconazole tablets (200 mg × 30 tablets) were selected in this bidding at a price of RMB 1,044.
 

Data indicate that voriconazole tablets are a broad-spectrum triazole antifungal agent, primarily used to treat invasive aspergillosis, serious invasive infections caused by fluconazole-resistant Candida species (including Candida krusei), and serious infections caused by Scedosporium species and Fusarium species. The original manufacturer of this product is Pfizer.
 

According to IMS data, the sales revenue of voriconazole tablets in the U.S. market reached $42 million in 2017, while the domestic market in China recorded approximately RMB 490 million (based on sales data from sample hospitals in the PDB database), indicating significant potential in the Chinese market.