China News Agency, Beijing, December 9 (Reporter Liu Liang) In response to the price fluctuations and market competition of some drugs and other epidemic-related materials, China's State Administration for Market Regulation issued two consecutive articles on the 9th to crack down on illegal activities such as driving up the prices of epidemic-related materials.
The "Reminder and Caution on the Price and Competition Order of Epidemic-Related Materials" issued on the same day draws a red line of "nine must-nots" for producers and operators of epidemic-related materials in terms of regulating price behavior and maintaining fair competition.
The reminder book clearly requires that producers and operators shall not violate the principles of good faith and fairness and reasonableness, shall not violate the regulations on clearly marked prices, shall not drive up prices, shall not cheat on prices, shall not collude in raising prices, shall not discriminate in price, shall not make false advertisements, shall not be counterfeit and confused, and shall not Commercial slander.
At the same time, self-examination and rectification requirements are put forward for the majority of producers and operators, and all sectors of society are encouraged to report clues of violations of laws and regulations, so as to promote social co-governance.
With the gradual refinement and optimization of epidemic prevention policies in various parts of China, there is a temporary shortage of some hot-selling drugs such as Lianhua Qingwen, and some unscrupulous operators have taken the opportunity to hype and drive up prices.
The State Administration for Market Regulation issued a document on the same day, explaining the inspection and handling of illegal activities such as driving up the price of Lianhua Qingwen drugs.
The inspection found that some operators began to increase their sales prices significantly in early December with little change in procurement costs, and drug prices on online e-commerce platforms rose significantly. For example, the price of a single box of Lianhua Qingwen Granules sold by an online pharmacy was previously at In the range of 26.8 yuan (RMB, the same below) to 38 yuan, but the price has risen rapidly to 99 yuan recently; an online pharmacy sold Lianhua Qingwen capsules, which also experienced a similar surge in unit price.
The State Administration of Market Regulation pointed out that the above-mentioned pharmacies have substantially increased their sales prices without a significant increase in costs, or that although their costs have increased, the price increase has been significantly higher than the cost increase, which has been suspected of constituting price gouging.
In the next step, the State Administration for Market Regulation will pay close attention to the price trend of drugs and other epidemic-related materials, and guide local market supervision departments to crack down on illegal acts such as hoarding and price gouging, and effectively maintain the market price order of epidemic-related materials.
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