Over 90 drugs to be added to national medical reimbursement list

China will add 91 drugs to its national medical reimbursement list next year, the National Healthcare Security Administration said on Thursday.

The latest update includes 26 cancer drugs, 17 treatments for diabetes and other chronic diseases, 13 for rare diseases, seven anti-infection medicines and four psychiatric drugs.

In the meantime, 43 drugs that have been replaced by more advanced counterparts or that have not been produced for a long time will be removed from the list.

The latest move puts the total number of medicines on the list to 3,159, including 1,765 Western medicines and 1,394 traditional Chinese medicines.

Among the newly-added drugs, 89 have been included following price negotiations or bidding with drug manufacturers, resulting in an average price cut of 63 percent.

The new list will take effect on Jan 1, 2025, and is expected to save patients more than 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) next year.