China's healthcare security authority on Tuesday announced a series of measures to encourage novel drug development, including the creation of a commercial insurance catalog for innovative medicines that patients could be reimbursed for.
Jointly released by National Medical Insurance Administration (NHSA) and National Health Commission, the list features highly innovative drugs plus those with significant clinical value or substantial benefits to patients, which are not covered by the national basic medical insurance scheme.
"This year, the National Healthcare Security Administration has guided Guangxi in utilizing the China-ASEAN medical procurement platform to actively promote the entry of domestically produced drugs and medical consumables into ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, it has innovatively established a convenient channel for purchasing drugs both domestically and internationally. Going forward, the NHSA will support more regions with favorable geographical locations to build platforms for trading innovative drugs," said Wang Xiaoning, director of the department of pharmaceutical pricing, bidding and procurement at NHSA.
"Several measures have also been proposed to encourage commercial insurance to increase investment in innovative drugs. We will also support innovative drug enterprises to take advantage of the strengths of Hong Kong and Macao to promote Chinese innovative drugs to the world. To support the overseas sales of homegrown innovative drugs, the administration plans to align with international practices and implement confidential pricing negotiations on a voluntary basis for pharmaceutical companies, particularly for drugs listed in the commercial catalog. We will explore a more rigorous price confidentiality mechanism," he continued.
Measures announced to encourage development of innovative drugs
With the Pinglu Canal in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region officially open to shipping, Yangpu Port in south China's Hainan Province will fully leverage the policy and geographical advantages of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) to accelerate its development into an international shipping hub, further connecting the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor with global markets.
The canal stretches along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a strategic trade route connecting China's inland regions with ASEAN and other global markets. It is the first river-to-sea canal project planned and coordinated at the national level since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Located in the northwest of the island province, Yangpu Port is the deep-water port closest to the main international shipping routes in the Beibu Gulf, and is also one of the maritime outlets of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.
The opening of the Pinglu Canal to navigation has opened up a new sea-river intermodal transport corridor for goods entering and leaving the southwestern region, and has also brought new opportunities to some enterprises.
At a petrochemical enterprise in Danzhou City, robotic arms are bagging and packaging chemical products on a conveyor belt, and these goods will be shipped to southwest China's Guizhou Province and other places.
Most of this enterprise's customers in the Chinese mainland are concentrated in the southwestern Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou. At present, the enterprise is adjusting its future shipping plans in response to the logistics changes brought by the opening of the Pinglu Canal to navigation.
"We plan to shift about 70 percent of our goods to this new sea-river intermodal transport corridor, and overall logistics costs are expected to drop by 30 to 40 percent. Next year we also plan to build another plant in Hainan, which will allow us to take advantage of the free trade port's policies, import raw materials from places like Indonesia, and after processing, sell the products to the southwestern region or re-export them. This is expected to add about 200,000 tons of production capacity," said Wei Jianqiang, head of Hainan Oxiranchem Co., Ltd.
Behind the enterprises' expansion of production and the busier flow of goods, there is also the upgraded service support made possible by the opening of the Pinglu Canal to navigation. In this regard, the relevant authorities have also made full preparations.
"After the Pinglu Canal opens to navigation, we will strengthen safeguard measures in areas such as facilitating the entry and exit of container ships on fixed routes, credit-based regulation, and cross-regional coordination," said Jiang Yufeng, head of the Xiaochantan Maritime Patrol and Law Enforcement Brigade, Yangpu Maritime Safety Administration.
Pinglu Canal underscores growing role of Yangpu Port as int'l shipping hub
