With the tenth batch of national procurement about to start, we are once again standing at a new starting point in history, ready to welcome this new wave of reforms in the pharmaceutical industry.

On January 9, 2024, the National Medical Security Work Conference was held in Beijing. It was mentioned that the centralized procurement should be promoted to "expand and improve quality". A new batch of national organized centralized procurement of drugs and consumables will be carried out, and the selected varieties in the centralized procurement will be continued after the expiration of the agreement, so that the total number of national and provincial centralized procurement drugs will reach at least 500, an increase of 50 compared with 2023.

In May, the National Medical Insurance Administration issued the "Notice on Strengthening Regional Coordination to Improve the Quality and Expand the Scope of Centralized Procurement of Medicines in 2024", which once again emphasized the active promotion of centralized procurement expansion in 2024.

The national centralized procurement started with "4+7" in 2018. So far, 374 varieties have been included in nine batches and ten rounds, and an average of about 41 varieties have been included in each batch of national procurement. According to industry forecasts, the tenth batch of national procurement will still be dominated by chemical drugs, and the varieties may be between 41 and 61.

On September 12, the National Medical Insurance Administration attended the State Council Information Office's "Promoting High-quality Development" series of press conferences. At the meeting, the leaders of the Medical Insurance Administration gave a response to the next deployment of centralized procurement.

"In the next step, the medical insurance department will vigorously promote the expansion and quality improvement of medical centralized procurement. Continue to expand the coverage of centralized procurement, carry out new batches of national organized drugs and high-value medical consumables centralized procurement, and we will include high-value medical consumables such as cochlear implants in the scope of centralized procurement. Strengthen regional coordination and focus on guiding local governments to promote the alliance centralized procurement of drugs and consumables such as Chinese patent medicines, Chinese herbal medicines and in vitro diagnostic reagents."

Under the guidance and supervision of the National Medical Insurance Administration, each province "performs its duties" and forms a joint force. Hubei continues to lead the centralized procurement of Chinese patent medicines, Shandong leads the centralized procurement of Chinese herbal medicines, Henan leads the national centralized procurement of alternative drugs, and the Sanming Alliance carries out the centralized procurement of drugs for tumors and respiratory diseases and other national joint procurement work.

In terms of rules, we must continue our advantages, but also "check for loopholes" and optimize details. Taking the ninth batch of national procurement as an example, on the basis of continuing the eighth batch of national procurement plan, the following optimizations were made:

First, the bidding period was extended. The ninth batch of national procurement will be from the date of execution of the winning results to December 31, 2027; second, restrictions were imposed on the possible situation of multiple affiliated companies joining forces to bid, and for the first time, it was proposed that related companies could form a consortium to apply.

Since the national centralized drug procurement pilot in 2018, national procurement has gone through nine batches and ten rounds. Each national procurement has achieved remarkable results, not only reducing drug prices, but also improving procurement efficiency, ensuring drug quality and supply stability.

1. The scale continues to expand: From the initial "4+7" pilot to the current nationwide coverage, the participants and procurement scale of national procurement have continued to expand, and the influence has been increasing.

2. The price has been significantly reduced: Through large-scale procurement and full competition, national procurement has successfully reduced drug prices and reduced the economic burden on patients. For example, in the ninth batch of national procurement, the average price of the drugs to be selected was reduced by 58%, and it is estimated that 18.2 billion yuan in drug costs can be saved each year.

3. Quality and supply are guaranteed: While reducing prices, the national procurement also focuses on ensuring the quality and supply stability of drugs. Through strict supervision and review mechanisms, the quality of selected drugs is ensured to be reliable and the supply is sufficient.

With the launch and promotion of the tenth national procurement, we have reason to believe that the national procurement will play a more important role in the future.

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