(Yicai) Dec. 8 -- China has included 114 new drugs in the national basic medical insurance, maternity insurance, and work-related injury insurance drug list, focusing on filling gaps in major, rare, and chronic disease treatments.

New drugs for treating triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer were among those added to the catalog, which is effective from Jan. 1, the National Healthcare Security Administration announced yesterday. New treatments for Langerhans cell histiocytosis and thalassemia, as well as for chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and autoimmune disorders, were also included.

Hengrui Pharmaceuticals saw nine of its products added to the list for the first time, while 11 others with new indications were renewed. Its sales of the 20 treatments topped around CNY7.6 billion (USD1.1 billion) in the first nine months of this year after reaching about CNY8.7 billion last year.

Genrix Biopharmaceutical's xeligekimab injection, used for treating adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis, also entered the catalog. Junshi Biosciences' toripalimab jab was added for all 12 indications approved in the Chinese mainland, making it the only anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody for the treatment of renal cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and melanoma on the list.

Eli Lilly's tirzepatid for treating glucagon-like peptide-1 type II diabetes was included in the catalog for the first time less than a year after launching in the country, covering blood sugar control in adult patients but not weight loss.

Health insurance coverage enables patients to use innovative drugs at more affordable prices, said Huzur Devletsah, president of Eli Lilly's China arm, adding that the company will launch over 20 new products and new indications in the country.

Novartis' long-acting cholesterol-lowering drug Inclisiran Sodium Injection, priced at CNY9,988 (USD1,415) per jab when it launched, was also added to the list. It is the world's first small interfering ribonucleic acid-based therapy, and the effect of a single injection can last half a year.

The price of Inclisiran Sodium Injection will likely drop more than 60 percent to around CNY3,000 after entering the catalog, noted Zhang Yi, director of the pan-vascular disease center of Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital.

In addition, the NHSA has given drugs that failed to get renewal and were removed from the catalog a transition period until the end of June next year.

Hengrui Pharma [SHA: 600276] rose 1.5 percent to CNY62.55 (USD8.85) a share as of 1.55 p.m. in Shanghai, Aidea Pharma [SHA: 688488] jumped 3.2 percent to CNY13.59, Genrix Biopharma fell 0.5 percent to CNY27.82, and Fosun Pharmaceutical [SHA: 600196] climbed 0.9 percent to CNY27.37. Huadong Medicine's stock [SHE: 000963] rose 1.2 percent to CNY42.65.

Editor: Martin Kadiev