The 2024 National Medical Insurance Drug Catalog was announced today, with a total of 91 new drugs added. At the same time, 43 drugs that have been clinically replaced or have not been produced or supplied for a long time were retrieved. After the adjustment, the total number of drugs in the list will increase to 3159, including 1765 western drugs and 1394 traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations. The level of protection in tumor, chronic disease, rare disease, children's medicine and other fields will be significantly improved. Since 2018, the National Healthcare Security Administration has carried out seven consecutive years of adjustments to the list of medical insurance drugs, greatly improving the accessibility of medication for the general public. Zhenjin Baiyin supports the development of innovative drugs. "This year, the scope of the catalog adjustment is dominated by new drugs, and 90 of the 91 new drugs are new to the market within five years." At the press conference held today by the National Health Insurance Bureau, Huang Xinyu, director of the Department of Medicine Administration of the National Health Insurance Bureau, said, "We will focus on the 'new global' support, including Class 1 chemical drugs (chemicals), Class 1 therapeutic biological products, Class 1 and Class 3 traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations. Of the 91 new drugs, 38 are 'new global' innovative drugs, and both the proportion and the absolute number have reached a new high over the years." Reporters learned from the press conference that after seven rounds of adjustment, a total of 149 innovative drugs will be created. Drugs are included in the medical insurance catalogue. Monitoring shows that as of October 2024, the medical insurance fund has cumulatively paid over 350 billion yuan for drugs during the agreement period, driving related sales of over 510 billion yuan. In the first ten months of this year, the medical insurance fund paid approximately 92 billion yuan for negotiated drugs during the agreement period, which is 21 times more than in 2019 when calculated over the same period. It can be said that the medical insurance fund is a 'real gold and silver' support for the development of innovative drugs, "said Huang Xinyu. The support of the National Healthcare Security Administration for innovative drugs is also reflected in the purification of the industry environment. In the past, the phenomenon of Chinese pharmaceutical companies' emphasis on sales and neglect of research and development was very prominent, which affected the overall innovation strength and the healthy development of the industry, causing conflicts between doctors and patients. "Chen Wen, a professor at Fudan University and the leader of the expert group on pharmacoeconomics for the adjustment of the 2024 National Medical Insurance Drug Catalog, explained in response to a question from a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Net that since the establishment of the National Medical Insurance Administration, it has used catalog access negotiations and centralized volume based procurement as a lever to promote the reduction of inflated drug prices and lead the pharmaceutical industry onto the path of innovative development. Studies have shown that from 2018 to 2023, the proportion of sales expenses of listed pharmaceutical companies in China has decreased from 17% to 13.7%, and the proportion of research and development expenses has increased from 1.8% to 4.7%, showing a good upward trend year by year. The key factor determining the outcome of drug negotiations is that drugs with high patient benefits are more likely to enter the bottom price calculation. Chen Wen introduced that when calculating the bottom price, a higher economic threshold will be given to drugs with high innovation and significant patient benefits. In this year's calculation, special consideration was given to the characteristics and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, and evaluation dimensions and measurement indicators were optimized in a targeted manner. This year, negotiations were successful on a certain medication for the treatment of severe mental illness. This medication can be effective for six months with one injection, which can greatly improve patient compliance and reduce the burden on the medical system compared to the original monthly injections in the catalog. After negotiation and inclusion in the catalog, the treatment cost is more than 30% lower than the original monthly preparations. The bottom price calculation during the negotiation process is guided by the establishment of a multidimensional value evaluation system with "patient health benefits" as the core, guiding the pharmaceutical industry to aim for true innovation, strive to create higher clinical value, and establish a clear orientation to support innovation. According to monitoring data, the medical insurance fund has cumulatively paid over 350 billion yuan for negotiated drugs during the agreement period, benefiting 830 million patients and reducing their burden by over 880 billion yuan. Every penny is spent on the cutting edge of the medical insurance fund. While ensuring the safety of the fund for such a large-scale expenditure on new drugs, on the one hand, it relies on scientific and reasonable calculations to ensure that the drugs' quality and price match 'and' value for money 'through negotiation and admission. On the other hand, it relies on the deepening reform and systematic governance of the medical insurance department in recent years, optimizing and adjusting the structure of existing expenditures to reduce the burden on insured people while ensuring the safety of the fund, "said Wang Guodong, Deputy Director of the Medical Insurance Center of the National Medical Insurance Administration. Preliminary estimates show that in recent years, the centralized procurement of drugs and consumables by the government has freed up over 500 billion yuan of medical insurance fund space for new drug consumption, new technology access, and medical service price adjustments. At the same time, we will continuously strengthen payment management through measures such as strengthening fund supervision and reforming payment methods. Wang Guodong stated that he strives to spend every penny of the medical insurance fund wisely. In addition, in the past 7 years, a total of 438 drugs with uncertain therapeutic effects or easy abuse, have been clinically eliminated, have not been produced or supplied for a long time, and can be replaced by other varieties have been extracted. More emphasis is placed on the implementation of the medical insurance catalog. This year's "Notice on Issuing the National Basic Medical Insurance, Work Injury Insurance, and Maternity Insurance Drug Catalog (2024)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") not only deploys the implementation of the new catalog, but also puts forward requirements for equipment use, new drug promotion, management supervision, etc., to ensure that the catalog is truly implemented and effective. The Notice specifies that designated medical institutions should, in principle, hold a pharmacy meeting before the end of February 2025 to adjust their medication list in a timely manner according to the 2024 Drug Catalogue, in order to ensure the clinical diagnosis and treatment needs and the rational use of medication rights of insured patients. It is not allowed to affect the admission of drugs to hospitals on the grounds of restrictions on the total amount of medical insurance, the number of drug catalogs in medical institutions, and the proportion of drugs. The Notice also requires that the medical insurance departments of each province (region, city) should establish a monitoring mechanism for the allocation of drugs in the catalog, based on the 2024 Drug Catalog, and use channels such as the National Medical Insurance Information Platform, Drug Traceability Code, and Medical Insurance Drug Cloud Platform to collect, improve, and maintain information on the allocation, circulation, and use of medical insurance drugs within their administrative regions, and strengthen the refined management of the allocation and use of medical insurance drugs within their jurisdiction. For drugs with low clinical value, long-term lack of production and use, and inability to ensure effective supply, we will focus on transferring them out in future directory adjustments. (New Society)