At present, my country's medical security has entered a new stage of high-quality development with rapid expansion, deepening reform and continuous innovation. It has carried out 10 batches of national organized drug centralized procurement and 5 batches of national organized high-value medical consumables centralized procurement, including a total of 435 kinds of drugs, and commonly used high-value medical consumables cover cardiology, orthopedics, etc.

At the beginning of 2025, my country's medicine centralized procurement ushered in a new opportunity to "go out". Recently, the China-ASEAN Regional Medicine Centralized Procurement Platform was officially launched in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi. It is the first cross-border medicine regional centralized procurement platform guided by the National Medical Security Administration.
Build an open pharmaceutical procurement cooperation platform

According to reports, the China-ASEAN Regional Pharmaceutical Procurement Platform is responsible for carrying out joint procurement in some regions of China and ASEAN countries. It will explore innovative regional medical, medical insurance, and pharmaceutical health cooperation models and industrial development paths based on China's unique medical security system, deepen the "Belt and Road" joint construction of national pharmaceutical procurement cooperation with ASEAN as the focus, and serve the "going out" of Chinese medicine.

By the end of 2024, Guangxi has completed the construction of the China-ASEAN Regional Pharmaceutical Procurement Platform, the online "Guangxi Medical Insurance Cloud Platform + N", and the China Medical Insurance Health Exhibition Hall with high quality, laying a solid foundation for carrying out procurement work for ASEAN and other countries.
Relying on the China-ASEAN Regional Pharmaceutical Procurement Platform, Guangxi will actively promote the entry of domestically produced drugs and medical consumables into ASEAN countries, and at the same time innovate and establish convenient service channels for purchasing drugs at home and abroad, and gradually meet the real-time online drug purchase needs of insured persons in Guangxi, medical personnel outside the region, and cross-border medical groups in ASEAN countries.

While promoting the "going out" of Chinese medicine, the construction of the platform has been given another important mission, which is to enable the high-level open development of Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone.

Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone was announced at the first International Medical Innovation Cooperation Forum in May 2019. On December 21, 2024, the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region issued the "Implementation Plan for the Construction of China-ASEAN Regional Medical Procurement Platform to Enable the High-Level Open Development of Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone", which helped promote Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone to become a convenient channel for providing cross-border warehousing and logistics services for drugs, medical consumables, and medical rehabilitation equipment to ASEAN.

At the launching ceremony of the China-ASEAN Regional Medical Procurement Platform, Liao Pinhu, Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that Guangxi will make good use of the "Several Policy Measures on Supporting the Reform and Innovation of Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone" issued by 11 ministries and commissions including the National Development and Reform Commission, and firmly implement the "Implementation Plan for Building the China-ASEAN Regional Medical Procurement Platform to Empower the High-level Open Development of Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone" in 6 aspects and 17 articles, enhance and implement the China-ASEAN Regional Medical Procurement Platform, build an open, cooperative, service-oriented and safe platform for domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies, attract more high-quality pharmaceutical companies to settle in the medical experimental zone, increase the industrial agglomeration effect, and inject new impetus into the high-level open development of Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone.

Expanding the "going overseas" channels for medicines facing ASEAN
China and ASEAN countries are connected by mountains and rivers and have close cultural ties. Shi Zihai, Deputy Director of the National Healthcare Security Administration, said that the official launch of the China-ASEAN Regional Medical Procurement Platform marks a substantial step forward in the exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the field of medical procurement, which will provide a broader space for cooperation between the two sides in the field of medical procurement and make positive contributions to improving the health and well-being of the people of both sides.

The pharmaceutical market in ASEAN countries is huge. Public data shows that the average annual compound growth rate of the pharmaceutical market in emerging countries represented by Southeast Asian countries will remain at 5% to 8%, higher than the 2.5% to 5.5% in developed markets. The Southeast Asian market will undoubtedly be one of the most promising markets for global pharmaceutical development in the future.

In recent years, domestic pharmaceutical companies have entered the ASEAN market to "dig for gold". The aging of the population in ASEAN countries has intensified, the prevalence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes has continued to rise, and the demand for related drugs has continued to grow.

It is reported that Qilu Pharmaceutical has carried out cooperation on related products in ten ASEAN countries, and many products have been launched in different countries.

"The China-ASEAN Regional Pharmaceutical Procurement Platform provides a broader market space for pharmaceutical companies." Xu Housheng, general manager of Qilu Pharmaceutical Guangxi Branch, introduced that most local pharmaceutical industries in ASEAN countries have weak development foundations and are highly dependent on imported drugs, which provides huge market opportunities for Chinese innovative drugs and generic drug companies.

Guangxi is the only province in my country that is connected to ASEAN countries by land and sea. Industry insiders believe that the establishment of my country's first cross-border regional pharmaceutical procurement platform in Guangxi and facing ASEAN will bring new vitality to the medical and health cooperation between Guangxi and ASEAN.

Guangxi and ASEAN countries have similar disease spectra, and the two sides have carried out rich and pragmatic cooperation in the medical and health fields for a long time. "The construction of the China-ASEAN Regional Procurement Platform for Pharmaceuticals is an important opportunity to give full play to Guangxi's geographical advantages adjacent to ASEAN and deepen and expand the exchange and cooperation between Chinese medicine and ASEAN countries." Liao Pinhu said that Guangxi will create more conditions and a better environment for pharmaceutical companies to "go overseas", and strive to introduce and cultivate influential and weighty transnational pharmaceutical cooperation brands, and make the "chess eye" of Guangxi's high-quality development more open.

The industry is looking forward to the landing of the "first order"
Promoting the "going out" of Chinese medicine is the development goal of the China-ASEAN Regional Procurement Platform.
Strengthening the research on medical insurance policies and other systems in ASEAN countries, promoting the coordination and cooperation of registration, review and approval of import and export of drugs and medical devices, exploring the cross-border settlement of medical and medical equipment, and exploring the establishment of convenient service channels for domestic and foreign drug purchases... "The Implementation Plan for the Construction of the China-ASEAN Regional Procurement Platform for Pharmaceuticals to Empower the High-level Open Development of Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone" lists a series of "task lists" for the platform's work in 2025.

The "task list" also clearly states that by the end of 2025, with a focus on traditional Chinese medicine and local special disease drugs, under the guidance of the National Medical Insurance Administration, relying on the Fangchenggang International Medical Open Pilot Zone and the China-ASEAN Regional Procurement Platform for Medicines, regional procurement of medicines and medical consumables in China and ASEAN countries will be carried out to promote the entry of domestic medicines and medical consumables into the ASEAN market.

"The launch of the China-ASEAN Regional Procurement Platform for Medicines has provided a strong impetus for the company to expand into the ASEAN market." Chen Hong, director and consultant of Guangxi Liuyao Group Co., Ltd., introduced that while the company fully supports and cooperates with the platform to carry out various tasks such as unified standards and data interconnection, it actively improves the recognition and influence of traditional Chinese medicine in ASEAN countries through exhibitions and assisting traditional Chinese medicine colleges and medical institutions to communicate with ASEAN countries, thereby driving the promotion of the company's products, expanding the ASEAN market from point to surface, and promoting the company's high-quality development.

The industry expects that the "first order" of the platform can be implemented as soon as possible and bring more positive effects.
The pharmaceutical companies interviewed said that they hope the platform can provide more data sharing and analysis services to help companies better understand market demand and competition, improve market response speed, and further strengthen coordination and communication among ASEAN countries through the platform to solve problems such as market fragmentation and policy differences.

In addition, the relevant companies suggested that the platform provide more market promotion support for companies by holding academic conferences and training activities, help companies establish brand awareness in ASEAN countries, and thus enhance the market recognition of Chinese products.

"We will pay close attention to the procurement information released by the China-ASEAN Regional Pharmaceutical Procurement Platform, actively participate in bidding, strive for the opportunity to win the bid, and expand the sales share of products in the ASEAN market." Xu Housheng said.

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