Led by the Hubei provincial medical insurance bureau, the fourth national
centralized procurement for proprietary Chinese medicines published full
results. The tender set 28 procurement groups and covered 89 commonly used
proprietary Chinese medicines, including OTC and exclusive varieties,
representing a market of more than CNY45 bln; over 40,000 public medical
institutions reported purchase volumes. A total of 344 firms submitted 468
products; 243 firms with 310 product specifications won. Overall average price
cuts exceeded 50%. The procurement used a composite scoring model (price 60%,
technical evaluation 40%) and introduced reinstatement/supplementary lists and
A/B grouping competition, moving away from lowest-price-only selection to
incorporate drug quality, clinical value and supply stability. Industry analysts
said the round accelerates alignment of in-hospital and retail pricing, will
concentrate share with firms that have scale, supply-chain and quality-control
advantages, and is likely to accelerate exit by smaller players lacking core
barriers.
