(Yicai Global) June 29 -- The cities of Beijing and Tianjin, Jiangsu province and other places in China have cut guide prices for Covid-19 nucleic acid tests as the production of test reagents increases.

A test can cost CNY120 (USD17) in Beijing, down from CNY180, the city's medical insurance bureau said yesterday. State-run hospitals must charge CNY120, while CNY180 is the upper limit for private medical institutions. Tianjin and Jiangsu have issued similar guidance.

The price of such tests is much lower now than the CNY200-plus before March, with many local governments having jointly procured kits to drive down the cost.

On June 15, Beijing Centralized Medicine Procurement Information Network announced details of collective buying by Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province. Among the winners, Maccura Biotechnology’s nucleic acid detection reagent had the lowest price of CNY15.98 (USD2.28), while Shanghai Fosun Long March’s test kit won with a low price of CNY18.35 (USD2.62).

Guangdong province also invited Jiangxi, Hunan and Yunnan provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chongqing municipality to form a procurement alliance to bulk-buy new coronavirus detection reagents.

Editor: Peter Thomas