(Yicai) Feb. 29 -- About 70 percent of the 165 rare disease treatment drugs available in the Chinese market have been included in the national medical insurance plan, according to a research report released on Rare Disease Day, which falls on the last day of February every year.

Some 112 drugs to treat 64 rare diseases have been added to China’s national medical insurance directory, according to a report jointly released by US consulting firm Frost & Sullivan and Chinese non-profit organization Illness Challenge Foundation today. Seventeen of the 112 drugs are fully reimbursable, and the remaining 95 are partially reimbursable.

Rare diseases are a group of diseases with low prevalence and a small number of people affected. However, due to the diversity of rare disease conditions, the number of people diagnosed with them is still substantial. It is estimated that there are more than 1,400 known rare diseases in China, affecting more than 20 million people, the report shows.

Since the establishment of the National Healthcare Security Administration in 2018, the medical insurance directory has undergone dynamic adjustments, which led to a significant increase in the number of rare disease drugs included.

In the latest edition of the medical insurance directory released on Dec. 13, new drugs for the treatment of 16 rare diseases were added, 10 of which got medications approved for the first time, according to the report.

However, the treatment of rare diseases in China still faces many challenges. Some rare diseases lack effective medications available domestically, and some of those available are prohibitively expensive. Moreover, there are disparities within rare disease drugs covered by the national insurance program, as some local authorities are not able to afford all the expenses, the report showed.

Even though China implemented policies to improve the accessibility of rare disease drugs, establishing a comprehensive assessment mechanism and addressing the financial and management challenges faced by hospitals in acquiring rare disease drugs are still necessary to truly ensure patient access to medications, Guo Jinchuan, research director at Illness Challenge Foundation and one of the authors of the report, told Yicai.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione