(Yicai Global) Feb. 11 -- China’s centralized drug and medical apparatus procurement scheme, which ensures distribution through the country’s vast health insurance program, has made savings of CNY260 billion (USD41 billion) in the six rounds to date with an average price reduction of 53 percent, according to the deputy head of the National Healthcare Security Administration.

The NHSA, which is preparing for the seventh round, plans to make bulk buying the basic purchase model for public medical institutions, Chen Jinfu said. By making public the procurement needs of hospitals, the agency allows market players to bid for access by offering their lowest prices. The scheme aims to slash the cost of often prohibitively priced generic and patented medicines as well as apparatus and consumables through economy-of-scale buying.

Some 234 types of drugs, treating everything from diabetes to the rare genetic condition Fabry disease, have been included in the centralized procurement scheme since it began in 2019. In the latest round, some 67 medicines made the cut, with an average discount of 61.7 percent.

The cancer drug Daratumumab, for instance, whose treatment can come to CNY1 million (USD157,000) per year, has been squeezed to under CNY300,000. The price of cardiac stents has been slashed by 93 percent and that of a false hip or knee by 82 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor