Original Title: New Round of National Reimbursement Drug List Negotiations Imminent; Two Anticancer Drugs Included in Negotiation List
Beijing News (Reporter Zhang Xiulan) The upcoming new round of national medical insurance drug access negotiations has drawn significant attention from the industry. On September 10, it was reported that multiple anticancer drugs from Roche and Pfizer, among others, would be included in the negotiation list. In the afternoon of September 10, Roche confirmed this information to a Beijing News reporter. This innovative approach to medical insurance drug access negotiations is also improving the accessibility of certain high-priced medications.
Medications for Cancer and Rare Diseases Become the Focus of Negotiations
According to information circulating online, two Roche drugs will participate in the upcoming new round of national medical insurance drug access negotiations: Alectinib (Alecensa), a targeted therapy for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer, and Pertuzumab (Perjeta), an innovative targeted therapy for breast cancer. Pfizer is expected to have three drugs in the negotiations: Ibrance, a blockbuster drug for breast cancer; Xeljanz, for rheumatoid arthritis; and Enbrel, a biologic DMARD for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
The Beijing News reporter sought verification from the companies regarding the aforementioned information. Roche confirmed that two of its drugs would participate in the negotiations, while Pfizer stated that there was no confirmed information at present.
On August 20, the National Healthcare Security Administration and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued a notice on printing and distributing the “National Drug Catalogue for Basic Medical Insurance, Work-Related Injury Insurance, and Maternity Insurance.” This adjustment to the drug catalogue represents a comprehensive review of the existing catalogue entries since the first edition was released in 2000. The National Healthcare Security Administration also pointed out that, following expert evaluation, 128 drugs were identified as candidates for price negotiations; all are exclusive products with high clinical value but relatively high prices. The next step will involve organizing negotiations in accordance with relevant procedures after confirming the negotiation intentions of the manufacturers, and successfully negotiated drugs will be included in the catalogue. These drugs are primarily used for the treatment of cancer, rare diseases, hepatitis B, diabetes, and other conditions, encompassing both critical, life-saving medications and commonly used drugs for chronic diseases.
In accordance with the requirements set forth in the "Work Plan for the 2019 Adjustment of the National Reimbursement Drug List" previously issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration, the negotiation phase took place from August to September 2019, and the list of drugs approved for reimbursement through negotiation was released from September to October.
Negotiations May Bring Larger Markets to Enterprises
Negotiated access has emerged as an innovative approach to inclusion in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) in recent years. In 2016, the first national drug price negotiation resulted in the inclusion of three drugs in the NRDL, including a first-line treatment for chronic hepatitis B and targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In 2017 and 2018, the healthcare security authorities incorporated 36 and 17 drugs, respectively, into the NRDL through negotiations. A significant reduction in drug prices was a major outcome of these negotiations, with average price reductions reaching 44% and 56.7%, respectively. For some drugs, the post-negotiation prices became the lowest globally. In the 2016 national drug price negotiation, the three drugs were Viread, a first-line treatment for chronic hepatitis B manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (China), and two targeted therapies for NSCLC: Conmana, produced by Beta Pharma, and Iressa, a product of AstraZeneca. According to the negotiation results, the price of Viread for the indication of chronic hepatitis B became the lowest globally.
An expert from the national medical insurance drug negotiation team previously stated in an interview with The Beijing News that the greatest benefit of drug price negotiations lies in including therapeutic drugs in the national medical insurance catalog, allowing the public to enjoy the health benefits brought by the latest technologies. He believes that as negotiated drugs are gradually implemented in provincial medical insurance schemes across China, these negotiations will also bring larger markets to enterprises in the long run.
Taking Beta Pharma’s icotinib as an example, the drug’s price was reduced by 54% during China’s first round of national drug price negotiations in 2016, and it was included in the updated National Reimbursement Drug List in February 2017. That year, sales of the drug surged by 42%.