Bayer's Acarbose Slashes Price by Over 90% in China's Second Round of Volume-Based Drug Procurement

　　【PharmNet Industry News] On January 17, the second batch of volume-based procurement officially opened bids in Shanghai, with 122 companies submitting quotes for 33 drug varieties, and the proposed winning bidders were to be announced on the same day.
 

According to media reports from the bidding site of the second batch of volume-based procurement, on the morning of the 17th, after several hours of bidding, Zhejiang Jingxin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. won the bid for Simvastatin, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., Ltd. won the bid for Abiraterone oral immediate-release tablets, and Fujian Guangshengtang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. won the bid for Adefovir Dipivoxil oral immediate-release tablets. Among foreign companies, Bayer won the bid for Acarbose oral immediate-release tablets, and Boehringer Ingelheim won the bid for Meloxicam oral immediate-release tablets.
 

Among them, Bayer, the originator of the antidiabetic drug acarbose, submitted a shockingly low bid, sparking audible reactions at the event. It is reported that in the second round of volume-based procurement bidding, the competitors for acarbose included Huadong Medicine’s subsidiary Zhongmei Huadong, Luye Pharma, and Bayer, with their respective bids being RMB 13.96, RMB 9.6, and RMB 5.42 for the specification of 50 mg/30 tablets.
 

Bayer’s bid was RMB 5.42 per box, representing a price reduction of over 90%. The calculated unit price per tablet was RMB 0.1807, nearly 80% lower than the stipulated high-effectiveness declaration price of RMB 0.8353. According to publicly available data, the previous median price for Bayer’s 50 mg acarbose tablets was RMB 2.14 per tablet, while the median price for the 100 mg strength was RMB 3.53 per tablet.
 

In this round of bidding, Huadong Medicine unfortunately failed to win the bid. Acarbose is a flagship product of Huadong Medicine, which once held the second-largest market share with a proportion of 30%. Data shows that in 2018, Huadong Medicine's sales of acarbose amounted to RMB 2.535 billion. Based on a market share of 30%, the domestic market sales volume in 2019 was estimated to be approximately RMB 8.45 billion. It is evident that if the news of its exclusion from the bid is confirmed, the impact on the company will indeed be significant.
 

Industry insiders stated that among the 33 drug varieties included in the second batch of volume-based procurement, acarbose was a highly watched variety. As a hypoglycemic agent taken long-term by diabetic patients, it has a vast market.
 

Data show that the prevalence of hypertension among Chinese residents aged 18 and above is 25.2%, the prevalence of dyslipidemia is 40.4%, and the prevalence of diabetes is 9.7%, indicating a substantial patient population. According to recent statistics, more than one in ten adults in China has diabetes, with the current number of patients reaching approximately 114 million.
 

Among all glucose-lowering medications, acarbose has become one of the most widely used oral antidiabetic drugs in China, owing to its superior efficacy in controlling postprandial blood glucose and its suitability for the Chinese dietary pattern. It is reported that in 2018, the total market value of acarbose products in China was estimated at approximately RMB 10 billion.
 

According to the sales data of chemical oral hypoglycemic agents in sample hospitals in China in 2018, acarbose and metformin accounted for more than 50% of the total market share of chemical oral hypoglycemic agents. Among them, acarbose accounted for 33%, and metformin accounted for 18%. However, the author noted that metformin was not included in the second round of the centralized procurement list.
 

Industry insiders indicate that, based on the currently leaked data regarding price reductions for drugs in the second round, the overall price reduction in this round of centralized procurement is preliminarily expected to be greater than that of the previous round. Drug prices are anticipated to continue their downward trend in the future. Furthermore, recent industry reports suggest that more than 160 drug varieties with the highest procurement amounts in hospitals will be included in centralized procurement, particularly those that have passed the consistency evaluation, especially varieties with three or more qualifying manufacturers. Overall, as centralized procurement deepens and becomes normalized, pharmaceutical companies need to take a long-term view and proactively strategize their development of innovative drugs,Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)In this field, only by effectively implementing integrated transformation and upgrading can we seize market opportunities.