(Yicai Global) Sept. 15 -- The price of an artificial joint has been squeezed to a fraction of its current pricing as orthopedic consumables are included in the Chinese government’s centralized procurement scheme for the first time, guaranteeing distribution through the country’s vast medical insurance program.

The average price of the 44 winning bids for an artificial knee was CNY5,000 (USD776) and that for a false hip was CNY7,000, the National Healthcare Security Administration said yesterday. Normally a new knee would cost around CNY32,000 (USD5,000) and a new hip CNY35,000.

Overseas companies, which dominate the Chinese implantable joint market due to the high entry barriers, participated actively and even underbid some of their Chinese rivals. US orthopedic device giant Stryker offered its ceramic-polyethylene hip joint at just CNY5,119 while Shanghai MicroPort Orthopedics and Beijing Chunlizhengda Medical Instruments set their prices at around CNY7,000.

Some Chinese manufacturers entered very low bids in an attempt to seize market share. Tianjin Kang’ernuo Technology’s bid came in at CNY1,788 (USD278), the lowest of all tenders, while Thytec Shanghai offered CNY1,970.

Ten percent of hospitals’ budgets of high-value medical consumables went on artificial joints last year, amounting to CNY20 billion (USD3.1 billion).

Since 2019, a number of provinces including eastern Anhui, southeastern Fujian and northeastern Shandong have carried out bulk-buy programs for false joints, generating savings of between 32 percent and 86 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor