China's National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFCP) has announced price cuts of up to two-thirds for three high-cost treatments, including hepatitis B (HBV) drug Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF; GlaxoSmithKline: GSK, UK) and lung-cancer treatment Iressa (gefitinib; AstraZeneca, UK). Read the Chinese-language statement here.
Implications | The development follows the NHFPC's announcement in March that it was negotiating a pilot programme with pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of approximately five treatments. |
Outlook | A key factor to watch will be the extent to which the lower prices allow for public reimbursement and reduced out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure for patients in China |
This announcement comes after the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) said in March that it was negotiating a pilot programme with pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of approximately five drugs targeting major diseases (see China: 10 March 2016: China's NHFPC indicates future price cuts for oncology treatments and imports).
Drug | Sponsor | Indication | New price (CNY) | Previous price (CNY) | Change in price (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF) | GSK | Hepatitis B (HBV) | 490 | 1,500 | 67.3 |
Iressa (gefitinib) | AstraZeneca | Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) | 7000 | 15,000 | 53.3 |
Conmana (icotinib) | Zhejiang Beta Pharma (China) | NSCLC | 5,500 | 12,000 | 54.20% |
Source: China National Health and Family Planning Commission, 2016© 2016 IHS | |||||
In response, GSK in a statement described the development as "a defining moment in the government's efforts to provide high-quality, innovative products at more affordable prices, and ultimately improve patient outcomes in China".
In addition, Zhejiang Beta Pharma said that the announcement would help to expand patient-access to its drug Conmana, as well as contribute to government savings on health-insurance expenses.
Outlook and implications
The NHFCP's statement is not in itself a surprise, given the commission's previous announcements and widely-circulated media reports citing the specific drugs that subsequently received price cuts. Further price cuts are expected to be announced, with local media sources reporting that other drugs under price negotiation include multiple myeloma treatment Revlimid (lenalidomide; Celgene, US), cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib; Roche, Switzerland), and Glivec (imatinib; Novartis, Switzerland). According to local media, approximately 20 pharmaceutical multinationals are currently engaging in price negotiations.
The price negotiations reflect the Chinese authorities' desire to take decisive action to combat the long-standing issue of unaffordable drug prices, particularly for high-cost innovative therapies. Notably, a lack of access due to price has led to a growing grey market in Hong Kong (see Hong Kong: 9 October 2015: High price of oncology treatments creates cut-price drugs trade in Hong Kong).
Looking ahead, a key factor to monitor will be the extent to which the lower prices allow for public reimbursement and reduced out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure for patients in China. Although the NHFPC emphasised in a statement on 20 May that it is working to harmonise China's fragmented public health insurance with national drug pricing (see the statement here), it remains to be seen how many provincial reimbursement lists will include the treatments currently under negotiation.