The third batch of national drug centralized procurement bids opened, and the average price of selected drugs was reduced by 53%
The price of medicine is lowered and the quality is not low
Our reporter Li Hongmei
Core reading
A few days ago, the third batch of nationally organized drugs for centralized procurement officially opened bids, and the average price of selected drugs was reduced by 53%, with a maximum reduction of 95%. A total of 56 varieties were included in this purchase, and the number of varieties was close to the sum of the previous two batches. The drugs participating in the centralized procurement are original research drugs or generic drugs that have passed the consistency evaluation, which means that the national drug regulatory authority has carried out quality certification for these drugs, the price is reduced, and the quality supervision requirements will not be reduced.
On August 20, the third batch of nationally organized drug procurement with a procurement scale of tens of billions opened bids in Shanghai, and the results of the proposed selection were produced. A total of 189 companies participated in this purchase, resulting in 125 companies to be selected and 191 drug products to be selected, with an average price reduction of 53% and a maximum reduction of 95%.
Purchase varieties are close to the sum of the first two batches
A total of 56 varieties were included in this purchase, and the number of varieties was close to the sum of the first two batches, involving drugs for diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular, anti-infection, tumor and other diseases. Some varieties with larger clinical usage, such as metformin, have attracted much attention, and 44 pharmaceutical companies participated in the bidding of this variety. In the end, 191 specifications of 55 drugs were selected.
Starting from the third batch, the state has organized the normal operation of centralized drug procurement. The centralized procurement rules, policy system, and working mechanism have been basically finalized and further consolidated and improved. Compared with the second batch of centralized procurement, the third batch of procurement rules has only been fine-tuned and optimized, and the maximum number of companies that can be selected has further increased from the original 6 to 8. The agreed purchases of antibiotics and injections such as amoxicillin, cefdinir, cefaclor, and clarithromycin have been reduced compared to other varieties in order to control the amount of clinical antibacterial drugs and promote the rational use of drugs. At the same time, there are more product regulations, which can better satisfy people's medication habits.
This centralized procurement adheres to the overall thinking and working mechanism of "national organization, alliance procurement, and platform operation"; adheres to volume procurement, integration of recruitment and procurement, and ensuring use.
On the day of the bid opening, there was a gathering of more than 180 participating companies, which exceeded the number of the first two batches. A number of original research drug companies actively participated in centralized procurement and gave effective quotations with a large drop. Finally, 3 original research drugs were shortlisted, with the largest drop of more than 90%, which attracted people's attention. The participation of local generic drug companies is very high, and the number of companies applying for some products has reached a new high, such as metformin, captopril, montelukast sodium, etc. There are as many as seven or eight companies participating in the quotation, or even dozens of companies. The proposed selection rate is also relatively high, with 2/3 of the applicant companies shortlisted.
Extruding the high price to ensure product quality
Metformin and captopril are two major varieties with fierce competition. After a large number of manufacturers quoted prices, the lowest price reached 1 minute, 4% and 5% per tablet. Many people will ask, is the price as low as 1 cent too low? Is the quality of medicines guaranteed?
In fact, 1 cent is not the price of drugs purchased, but the price of each tablet/capsule, which is the smallest statistical unit of preparations used in the bidding of drugs to facilitate price comparison. The price when buying medicine is a box or a bottle, divided into various specifications, the total price is a few yuan, tens of yuan. Since the drugs involved in centralized procurement are required to be original research drugs or generic drugs that have passed the consistency evaluation, this means that the national drug regulatory department has carried out quality certification for these drugs, and even if the price is reduced, the quality supervision requirements cannot be reduced.
The reporter compared the highest effective declared prices of metformin and captopril given in the collection documents, and most of them are around 2 cents or 3 cents per piece, and the prices are not high. According to the rules, the highest effective declared price is the average market price. The centralized drug procurement organized by the state ensures the market share of the selected drugs. In this case, the drug price will be reduced by a part, reducing the cost of the sales link that does not need to be carried out. It is entirely possible to achieve small profits but quick turnover by relying on economies of scale.
Regarding the issue of quality, the person in charge of the Pharmaceutical Price and Bidding and Purchasing Department of the National Medical Insurance Bureau stated that the third batch of national centralized procurement adheres to high-quality standards and will still pass the quality consistency evaluation as a condition for the entry of generic drugs.
Qilu Pharmaceutical has eight shortlisted products in this collection, involving therapeutic drugs such as tumors and cardiovascular systems. At present, the company has 38 drugs that have passed the consistency evaluation, and it is the manufacturer with the most products that have passed the consistency evaluation. It is worth noting that the manufacturers with larger profits in centralized procurement are often large manufacturers with more product reviews. They are large-scale, self-sufficient in raw materials, stable product lines, and have a number of innovative drugs and first imitation drugs, with good cost control, quality assurance, and strong comprehensive strength. The competitiveness of these companies will become increasingly prominent.
Shi Luwen, a professor at the School of Pharmacy of Peking University, believes that my country's listed drugs are produced according to strict procedures. In particular, old products have been tempered and evaluated for consistency of generic drugs, and the quality is completely reliable and controllable. At the same time, drugs should be used clinically to ensure patient medication safety.
Patients reduce the burden and pharmaceutical companies reduce costs
In the proposed list, most of the original research drugs were not selected due to high prices and were replaced by domestic generic drugs. This means that the cost of medicines for ordinary people has been greatly reduced, but the quality of medicines is still excellent.
“The centralized procurement of drugs organized by the state guarantees the quality, which solves the problem of the inability to bring in quantity and timely payment of the original centralized procurement. The supporting policies are in place, and the centralized procurement is used as a breakthrough to realize the linkage of the'three medical's, and the effect of generic drugs instead of original research drugs is gradually Appears.” Shi Luwen said, as the price of generic drugs has fallen and the quality is guaranteed, patients have become more and more assured after using them for a period of time, and the demand for generic drugs has begun to increase. With the continuous expansion of consistency evaluation, large domestic companies have taken the initiative to establish the image of generic drugs, promote the continuous integration of enterprises, and form a market brand effect. Domestic companies have more energy to focus on research and development, and under the condition of ensuring the brand of generic drugs, promote the transformation of national industry from generic drugs to innovative drugs.
The original research drug is highly involved, but the selection is small. Will the public not be able to use the original research drug in the future?
The reporter learned and discovered that this is related to the company's own market strategy. After all, centralized procurement of drugs only covers part of the drug consumption, and there is still room for uncentralized procurement of drugs. But in the long run, this is just a transitional phenomenon.
According to the “Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the Pilot Program for the Centralized Procurement and Use of Drugs Organized by the State” issued in 2019, in principle, the medical insurance funds of original research drugs, reference preparations, and generic drugs that have passed the consistency evaluation under the same generic name The same payment standard is used for settlement. If the price is higher than the purchase price, it must be adjusted within two to three years. This means that in the future, the price paid for similar drugs and medical insurance will be the same. Insured patients who want to buy high-priced medicines have to pay more.
Hu Shanlian, a professor at the School of Public Health of Fudan University, believes that the three national centralized procurements cover hundreds of varieties, which will increase the concentration of pharmaceutical companies in the future, standardize the circulation of drugs, establish payment standards for medical insurance drugs, improve the hospital drug catalog, and increase the availability of drugs for patients. Accessibility has played a big role in reducing medical expenses.
Chen Qiulin, director of the Health Economics Research Office of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that compared with the previous two batches of centralized procurement, the third batch of procurement is larger. After the first two batches of centralized procurement, the enterprise has adapted to the existing centralized procurement mechanism, which in turn proved that the first two batches of centralized procurement have achieved good results. "The implementation effects of the first two batches of centralized procurement have also proved the value of the state's organization of mass procurement. This policy conforms to the industry's laws as well as the current reality. It benefits from multiple parties and should be continuously improved and promoted."
The head of the Pharmaceutical Price and Bidding Purchasing Department of the National Medical Insurance Administration stated that the centralised procurement and use of medicines organized by the state from centralized procurement, payment, prepayment, and on-site use have formed a normalized mechanism, and the reform effect continues to ferment.
For example, the marketing model of selected companies has changed, and more consideration is given to innovation rather than sales. The industry ecology continues to improve, benefiting all parties. For patients, it has achieved the effects of reducing burden, promoting access, improving quality and strengthening protection. For pharmaceutical companies, it has the effect of reducing costs, stabilizing demand, helping promotion, and promoting research and development, which not only protects people's livelihood, but also promotes industrial transformation and upgrading, and is highly recognized and actively supported by the people and selected companies. In the prevention and control of the epidemic, companies are faced with market demand and order uncertainty, and the policy effect of centralized drug procurement has outstanding significance, which is conducive to better coordination of economic and social development and epidemic prevention and control.